


Love is Not a Potato

by EstaJay



Series: Love, Duty and Potatoes [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Shotgun Wedding, Trans Male Character, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Wedding traditions, just a lot of self indulgence, the rest of the Links are basically the peanut gallery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-23 13:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23712469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstaJay/pseuds/EstaJay
Summary: Love takes many forms - for Warriors it turns him into an incomprehensible stuttering mess around his crush. Maybe a little intervention from the other heroes will give his love life the kick start that it needs.Or"His next greatest achievement is getting married. You'd think this wouldn't be nearly as complex or time consuming but you'd be wrong." - Red, Overly Sarcastic Productions
Relationships: Impa/Link (Legend of Zelda), Impa/Warriors (Linked Universe), Legend & Warriors (Linked Universe), Time & Warriors (Linked Universe)
Series: Love, Duty and Potatoes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746250
Comments: 63
Kudos: 232





	1. "He's...blushing?" by Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure and utter self indulgence and my way of coping with current events.  
> I've been Live Writing this on Discord for about a month now and though it's nowhere near finished, I'm starting editing and posting now so I won't have to deal with a 50K+ monster in the future.  
> A bit thanks to everyone who has been following along with the LWs and helped make this fic what it is today <3

Time automatically woke up two hours before sunrise in Termina - which sadly was just after midnight in his home era. There was an incomparable comfort with being at home: a soft bed under his back, his wife gently snoring at his side and the simple knowledge of being  _ safe.  _ But the full moon mockingly peeked through the bedroom window in a starless night sky. The toll of bells still echoed in his mind along with a simple tune that reminded him of the futures he was robbed of. 

Normally, he would lie awake and let Malon’s snores lull him into a quiet peace. Tonight, however, he heard the creak of floorboards stirred by light footsteps. Burglar was his first thought - but then Time remembered that there were more occupants in their humble farmhouse tonight. 

Carefully, as not to disturb Malon, Time got out of bed. Maybe tonight he could find company with another sleepless hero. 

The blue scarf immediately betrayed the identity of the figure in front of the kitchen fireplace.Time took two loud steps to announce his entrance - as amusing as it was to startle that captain, he didn’t need his screeching waking up the entire house. Warriors tensed but immediately relaxed after a quick side-eyed glance. 

“What did you tell the others?” Time asked. There was no way he could have gotten out of that shared room without waking up at least one other person.    
Warriors turned to him and shrugged. “That military protol conditioned me to sleep in shifts.” But his hands said,  _ “I needed some time to breathe and a hot drink to ease the cramps.” _

Time had noticed the garment thrown over one of the dining chairs. 

_ “I know my wife has some tea for when it’s her time.” _

_ “I don’t mean to impose-” _

But Time didn’t see the rest of his words as he began to rustle through the cupboards for the tea tin. 

A few moments later, the pair sat opposite each other at the dining table with cups of hot tea in their hands. 

_ “Your wife is going to notice - especially when her time comes.”  _ Warriors signed before taking a sip.  _ “This is good stuff! Do you know what’s in it?” _ _   
_ _ “A mix of herbs and flowers from the old woman the next farm over.”  _ Time gave a cheeky smile.  _ “You know, we could always ‘accidentally’ spill the tin so we have a reason to visit in the morning.” _

Warriors grinned, just barely stifling a laugh.  _ “You’re still the same lil shit.”  _ But then he sobered.  _ “You grew up.” _

Ah, so now was the time for another talk that needed to happen.  _ “Children grow up.”  _

Warriors fumbled with his words, wringing his hands as he tried to decide on what to say next. Finally, he signed,  _ “How many years has it been for you?” _

_ “Two decades, one month and five days.”  _ A little pedantic but he knew Warriors never minded. 

_ “It’s been almost eight years for me.”  _ Warriors took another sip of his tea but kept his head bowed.  _ “I should have tried harder.” _

_ “You did what you could.”  _ But Time didn’t know if Warriors saw his words. “I wanted you at my wedding.”

Warriors head immediately shot up. He wrung his hands again but no words formed. 

_ “You’re my dad, I wanted you to be there.”  _

Warriors bit his lip, trying not to scoff.  _ “I filled out some paperwork and allowed a child into a warzone.” _

Time clicked in front of Warriors’ face, making sure that he would see his words this time.  _ “You cared for me. You supported me when I needed it the most. You gave me someone to aspire to be. If that’s not a dad then I don’t know what is.”  _ He leaned back into his chair.  _ “Did you know I was the captain of the royal guard? It made me feel closer to you.” _

Warriors stared at him with mild disbelief. Time smiled, the captain smile he had crafted specifically after the father who inspired him. 

Then Warriors laughed.  _ “You must have been an absolute terror as a captain.” _

His smile morphed into a cheeky smirk.  _ “I learned from the best.” _

Warriors took a sip as his laughter faded away.  _ “But don’t you have to report to the castle?” _

_ “Her Majesty relieved me of my duties when I got married.”  _ It wasn’t like he did much at the castle anyway. Ganondorf had been dealt with. It was a time of peace.

_ “Do you have a sign name for your wife?”  _

_ “For M-A-L-O-N, ‘Strong willed’.”  _ When Time had been teaching Malon sign, she told her to pick a name for herself but then she had turned around and told him to pick one for her. The memory still warmed him to this day. 

Warriors sighed.  _ “If only I could have been there.” _

Time sighed as well. He remembered the days he would shout to the heavens in hopes that the guardians of time were listening and nights he would pray to the goddesses. Whether by magic or divine intervention, he wanted to see his father one more time. It may not have happened then but he had gotten his wish now. 

_ “You can make it up by inviting me to your wedding.”  _ Time signed cheekily.  _ “I heard you betted on me being married to Her Majesty. Were you basing it off your own feelings?” _

Warriors immediately turned red. He pulled his scarf over his face with one hand and signed with the other,  _ “It’s not like that!” _

Before Time could tease him further, there was a knock at the back door. Warriors immediately tensed and moved to find a weapon but Time signaled for him to stay put. There was only one person who would be knocking at this time of the night. 

Warriors kept his eyes trained on him as he opened the door. As expected, Impa was on the other side. 

“Captain.” The Sheikah greeted formally. She may be nearing fifty but her age barely showed. “...It seems you have visitors.”

“Just some family visiting.” Time said. 

Impa eyed him suspiciously but said nothing on the matter. “It is good that you returned safely. Her Majesty has expressed her concerns about your sudden disappearance. Malon was worried.”

Time winced. Oh right. The portal. “The goddesses have called me for another adventure. I will be leaving again soon.”

They exchanged some brief small talk before a satisfied Impa disappeared into the night. Time sighed, even after all these years he still didn’t understand Sheikah. 

When Time returned to the table, he found Warriors with his face completely buried in his scarf and obviously red with a blush. 

His signs were shaky and misshapen in a way Time had never seen before.  _ “I forgot there was an elegant blade in your era.” _

_ “Elegant blade?” _

Warriors made an uncharacteristic squeak before signing,  _ “I-M-P-A.” _

Time raised a brow.  _ “I didn’t know the general had a sign name.” _

Warriors blushed even deeper.  _ “Recent thing. Please drop.” _

And Time didn’t push any further but he wouldn’t forget. What triggered Warriors turning into a blushing mess. 

* * *

That little incident stayed between Time and Warriors, one of the many little secrets that they kept between the two of them. It was many weeks before it came up again sparked, by all things, by the heroes’ arrival in Legend’s era. 

Despite Legend's rough exterior, grumpy attitude and overall demeanor that seemed tailor-made to drive people away, he didn't go through six adventures without finding a couple dozen or so people who tolerated, or even enjoyed, his presence. The other heroes soon discovered the veteran's extensive circle the moment he was whisked away when they set foot in his Castletown. 

They watched in amusement as the normally crabby hero was mobbed by his many allies from his numerous adventures. Travelers from across Hyrule and beyond had flocked to the capital in hopes of catching their hero and friend before he disappeared again on another adventure. Though Legend shouted for the other heroes to stop being bystanding bastards and get him out of the crowds, there was no hiding the happiness nestled underneath that scowl - and the heroes found pleasure in his utter surprise when a red and blue haired duo hoisted him onto their shoulders and paraded him around the city like a human totem pole.

It was the talk of campfire for nights on end even after they left that Hyrule behind them.

"So you had to rescue six maidens who were descendants of sages on your first adventure but then on your fifth, you had a new set of sages to rescue?" Four asked. "What were the maidens doing during all that?"

Legend crossed his arms and scowled but he was still willing to indulge in all their curiosity after all these nights. "Hey, I don't make the rules. Evil sorcerers pick a set of people to kidnap and don't question if there were any alternatives."

"Enough about maidens and sages! What about the stacking thing you did?" Wind said excitedly.

"Oh, that would be totem time." Legend smirked. "If you can't get the higher ground over a fucker, then you create your own."

"Can we try that sometime?! Twilight can be on the bottom since he's the strongest!" 

Twilight yelped when Wind jumped on his shoulders. "Hey! Don't volunteer me for your crazy battle tactics!"

Legend pulled the sailor off Twilight but before Twilight could thank him, Legend climbed onto his back with Wind on his own shoulders. 

"I didn't agree to this!" Twilight yelled.

He stood up to try and shake the other two off but Legend just tightened his leg grip around Twilight's neck and Wind squealed in glee as he was hoisted to new heights. 

"You make a good bottom totem, farmboy." Legend said, patting Twilight's head. 

Twilight scowled. "I'll drop you, packrat." But it was an empty threat because there was no way he could do so without harming the hero on the top. 

Wind gave a manic chuckle and drew his sword. "Watch out, monsters! The Link tower is headed your way!"

The rest of the heroes laughed as the human totem stumbled about, Twilight's steps sometimes faltering but never buckling. He threw Time a pleading look and he decided to spare his successor some dignity and possible injury. 

"You've had your fun. Get down now." Time said sternly, but there was no hiding the chuckle in his voice. "Besides, it's about time we all turn in."

"Not yet! We can go on for a bit longer!" Hyrule protested. 

"As flattering as it is, I don't get why you're all so mystified." Legend said, suppressing a yawn. "I'm not from the most impressive era."

"We're still all reeling from the idea that our grumpy little hoarder has so many admirers." Warriors goaded. 

"Oh ha ha, captain." Legend said. "Wait until we hit your era then we'll see who's laughing."

Wild hummed. "I'm still curious about who that tall lady was."

"Which one?" Legend asked. 

Warriors planted his elbow on top of Legend's head. "Yeah, everyone's tall compared to this shorty."

Legend slapped the offending limb away. "Oi! You ain't no giant yourself."

"The one with long silver hair." Wild clarified. "Dressed in red, with the big..." He held a pair of uncut hydromelons that were left over from dessert over his chest.

"Oh, that's Impa." 

"Wait, wasn't the old lady Impa?" Hyrule said. 

"Time-travel?" Sky offered.

Legend waved a dismissing hand. "Nah there are two. The younger Impa's the niece of the older one. She didn't get kidnapped, just possessed."

"It's weird thinking of Impa as anything other as an old woman." Hyrule said. 

Wild nodded. "Yeah, it's funny thinking of her as anything other than ancient."

Hyrule cheekily elbowed him. "Say the century-old geezer."

"I knew most of my Zelda's nursemaids but none of them were named Impa." Four said. 

"I don't know an Impa either." Wind added. 

Twilight shrugged. "I met an old lady named Impaz on my journey. A descendant maybe?" He turned to Time. 

Time leaned back against a tree and nodded. "There is an Impa in my time. She acted not only as the princess's attendant but also as her protector."

Hyrule stifled a laugh. "Sorry, it's just that...it's hard to think of old Impa as a warrior of any sort, even if she was younger."

"You'll be amazed by what the elderly were like in their younger years." Sky said. 

Time nodded. "If you want to know about a warrior Impa, I’m sure the captain would be happy to talk about his general."

He turned to Warriors who had fallen oddly silent during the conversation. His face was buried in his scarf, with his forehead barely peeking out. Just like that night at the ranch.

"Hey, Warriors?" Wind said, nudging the captain's side. 

"Oi, you fell asleep on us pretty boy?" Legend said. 

Warriors suddenly shot up to his feet. "It's getting late. We need to sleep. I'll take second watch. Night!" he said stiffly before stumbling off to his bedroll. 

The remaining heroes exchanged a look of confusion. 

"What's gotten into him?" Four muttered. 

Twilight scoffed. "He probably just spaced out in the middle of the conversation and doesn't want to admit it." 

"His cheeks were a little red." Sky said. "Was he blushing?"

Wild, Hyrule and Legend all erupted with laughter. 

"Over what? Impa?" Wild choked out between laughs. 

"Dear goddesses, imagine if that was pretty boy's type." Legend wiped a tear from his eye.

More jokes were made at Warriors’ expense that night at the thought of the unlikely couple of a Link and an Impa. 

But Time spent the night in contemplative silence, shifting through his memories for any hints of more between the captain and his general.

__


	2. "Call me the Hero of Love!" by Wild/"This can only end is disaster" by Four

The appearance of another portal meant it was time to be plunged into another era - a forest path was traded for a well worn road. 

"It's rather...barren here." Sky said, eyeing the endless dusty plains with barely a rock or tree in sight. 

"It's an era fresh from a war." Time said. "We should be glad that we haven't stumbled upon any bodies."

Legend eyed the old man suspiciously. They had been to his Hyrule before and it looked nothing like this. Either he was talking out of his ass or this was something from his untold adventures. He wouldn’t pry - throwing questions meant being prepared for them to be hurled right back and there were still things that he would rather not share.

Warriors was oddly silent. There hadn’t been a single word out of the normally loud-mouthed captain. He stared over the lands slightly dazed with his eyes fixed ahead to the distant city on the horizon. 

Legend sharply elbowed his side. "Oi! Snap out of it!"

Warriors winced and he blinked back into focus. "Oh right. This is my Hyrule. Welcome."

Sky shot him a concerned look. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine! Tip-top soldier shape!" Warriors said a little too quickly. "That's Castletown dead ahead! We can make it before sunset - chop chop!"

He stiffly marched ahead of the group, arms mechanically swinging while he awkwardly whistled a random tune. 

The other heroes had no choice but to follow or be left behind.

"Something's up with Warriors." Wind said. 

"Obviously." Legend said. "I bet he's hiding something."

"Maybe he's just homesick." Hyrule said. "This is the first time we've been to his era."

"Homesickness doesn't explain why he's acting like that."

Warriors’ steps had grown stiffer and more exaggerated and his whistling had devolved into horribly off-key singing. It was so painfully fucking obvious the captain was trying to hide something.

"Knowing him, we should prepare ourselves for a hoard of scorned lovers the moment we reach town." Twilight said.

"Best not to make assumptions now." Time said, but Legend saw that look in the old man’s eye - he knew a whole lot more than he was letting on.

Though Warriors had disappeared from sight the road continued straight without a single turn one way or another, leading the heroes straight to the gates of Castletown. The capital was guarded like a fortress - towering stone walls with knights manning the gates. Legend wasn’t no expert of war but his experience informed him that those catapults and crossbows that lined the top of the walls weren’t for show. The stained stone of the walls told a story of their own - siege weapons that hadn’t been cleared away and shining streaks that told of hot oil being poured from above. This was a place that had been attacked and was expecting another in the near future. 

People of all kinds streamed in through the gates. Soldiers, merchants, farmers - there were even some Gorons and a handful of other races dotted among the crowd. Legend doubted this sort of traffic was normal. Either there was an event of some sort or there were greater differences between eras than he initially thought. 

After an exasperated Twilight had convinced Wild  _ not  _ to scale the walls to get inside, they joined the infuriatingly slow procession that bottlenecked at the gate. Legend kept his grumbling to himself and instead sharpened his ears - trying to glean as much information as he could from the rabble. There was talk of war and festivals and paperwork - fuck. If they were going to have to spend a night camping outside of Castletown because their local hero and supposed guide to this era had run off to who knows fucking where, Legend was going to strangle Warriors with his own scarf. 

They reached the city gates and Time looked ready to spout some bullshit to the gatekeeper when a blue fairy appeared. She darted over each one of them, methodically circling around but always remaining just out of arm's reach. 

"Uh...hi?" Wild offered. 

But the fairy ignored him until she had inspected every member of the group. 

"Right. This is definitely the group Captain Link said was coming." the fairy said to the gatekeeper. 

The guards, having no fucking patience, shoved the heroes through the gate when they stalled so they wouldn’t hold up the queue. They had no choice to follow the fairy who flew ahead of them less they got swept up in the crowds. 

"You have a room booked for you for the duration of your stay."

"Introduction's not a thing here?" Legend scowled. 

"And where's Wa - Link now?" Four added. 

The fairy bobbed in annoyance. "I am Proxi, Captain Link's adjutant and voice when he is unable to speak...which is unfortunately very often."

Legend scoffed. "The captain? Not being able to speak?"

The fairy dipped again. "We all have our quirks and the captain's a man of few words."

"Are we even talking about the same Link?" Hyrule muttered. 

"Will he be meeting us at the inn?" Time asked, ending any other remarks. 

"No. It is unlikely that you will see the captain for the duration of your stay. There are many urgent matters that need to be discussed with the general and princess." 

"So he's just going to abandon us in his Hyrule?" Twilight grumbled. 

"These are matters concerning the stability of the kingdom. The captain has no time to play host to some wayward travelers." Proxi said haughtily. 

"Wayward travelers?!" Legend exclaimed but Wild and Hyrule were quick to pull him back before he could pounce at the fairy.

"As a matter of fact, neither do I." Proxi said, hovering higher above the heroes. "The inn is located in the town square and the captain has given strict orders that you are not to leave the premises until further word has been given."

Twilight growled. "If the captain thinks he could just order us around-"

But the fairy flew off before he could finish.

"Fucking bastard." Legend scowled, kicking at the ground.

"Maybe it really is something urgent." Sky said. He tried to soothe the others but was no less peeved himself. 

"That doesn't give him the right to order us around like common foot soldiers." Four countered. 

"This is his Hyrule and we should respect his wishes." Time said. 

"Then he should have told us himself instead of sending some fairy bitch." Legend straightened and turned to the castle. "I'm storming right in there and dragging that vain asshole out by the ear, 'urgent business' be damned. Whose with me?"

The old man shot him a disapproving look. "Breaking into the castle is the quickest way to get run out of town."

Legend glared back. "Then he should have thought of that before running off."

"You saw how weird Warriors was acting before, I'm worried." Hyrule said. 

Twilight stepped backwards to stand next to Time. "But if you get caught-"

"I'm a master of stealth!" Wind said. 

Legend crossed his arms. "You think I don't know how to sneak into a place?"

"I've got a couple foolproof tricks." Four said. 

"And I've got stealth gear and potions!" Wild added. 

"And they don't seem to mind fairies flying about." Hyrule said.

Time turned to Sky who bowed his head. "Stealth isn't my thing - but I do think we deserve to know more on what's going on." 

Time sighed. The majority had decided. "Just please give a signal if we're about to be run out of town."

Legend smirked. "You won't miss it."

* * *

Across the eras, the heroes had developed many ways for remaining unseen. Wind had both the size and skill to slip between fixtures and hide within crates and barrels to avoid detection. Both Hyrule and Four had their own magics to shrink themselves to tiny sizes while Legend had Ravio’s bracelet to merge into the walls themselves. Surprisingly, Wild was the most conventional with a set of armour and potions that dampened any sound the consumer made. Legend tried not to focus on the eye emblazoned on his chest - there were differences between their eras. Symbols changed, meanings differed and he was not going to succumb to his ‘shoot the evil eye’ instinct.

Despite all the security surrounding the town, breaking into the castle was ridiculously easy. 

"Now I can see why the princesses always get kidnapped if this is the best their kingdom has to offer." Legend said. 

Hyrule flutter by. "Don't be mean, we've got the magic and experience on our side."

Legend scoffed. "Yeah, and so do most evil sorcerers." 

Locating where their companion was also surprisingly easy with their combined knowledge of navigating through castles. The trespassing heroes found Warriors in the first meeting room they checked, standing around a round table with his princess and a Sheikah woman opposite him and Proxi hovering over his shoulder. 

Legend positioned himself on a wall with a framed map of the kingdom while Wind and Wild observed from the rafters, Hyrule on the latter's shoulder and Four on the former's. 

"Honestly, I'm concerned with how easy it was to get in here." Four muttered only for Wind to push his finger tip against his tiny mouth. 

"Quiet, I want to hear what they're talking about."

"...and these new portals are the work of some other unknown force?" the princess said. 

Warriors stiffly nodded, his gaze trained ahead and mouth firmly pressed shut. 

"Link believes that whoever is creating the portals is unaffiliated with Cia." Proxi said. "But there is a strong chance that they are using the same type of magic." 

The Sheikah woman crossed her arms. "And do you have any suspicions on the identity of this force?"

Warriors stiffened even further. Proxi sighed with a bob and flew closer to receive his words.

However the spying heroes noticed something else. 

"Is Warriors blushing?" Wind whispered.

Wild quickly signed to Legend who confirmed, that yes, underneath his scarf and bangs, the captain's face was as red as a fucking tomato.

The Sheikah woman was equally aware of Warriors' poorly concealed blush and was not afraid to let her displeasure show. "Any comments for yourself, captain?"

Warriors buried his chin in his scarf in uncharacteristic shyness. "I - uh...uh..." 

"Link is certain that these new portals won't further add to the damage from the recent war." Proxi said, swooping down to his aid. "But there may be further - what's that? Can you sign that again?" 

The Sheikah woman sighed. "We will resume this meeting as soon as the captain has learned to speak for himself." 

She threw a brief glance at the corner where the heroes were hiding. They held their breath and retreated further into the shadows. The Sheikah turned her nose up and swept out of the room without a second glance. 

Warriors visibly and dramatically relaxed, sighing heavily and letting his shoulders fall limp. However, he immediately pulled his scarf over his entire head and face. 

The princess sighed and walked around to her hero's side. "You did better this time, Link." 

"Yeah!" Proxi said, fluttering overhead. "One word and two whole syllables!" 

But Warriors gave a high-pitched whine and closed further in on himself. 

The princess sighed again and patted him on the back. "Get some rest. You've travelled a long way. I'll speak with Impa and see if we can resume the meeting tomorrow afternoon." 

The moment the princess left the room, Warriors slumped to the ground, resting his cheek on the meeting table. "I'm an idiot." 

Proxi bobbed. "Yes you are."

"I'm never going to be able to talk to her."

"...she'll likely have you discharged and demoted at this rate."

Warriors groaned, burying his face in the wood. "Thanks Proxi. I can always rely on your honesty." 

"Why don't we go into town?" Proxi said, flying around Warriors' head. "I'm sure some more practice will help!"

"I'm pretty sure the whole ladies man thing makes her hate me even more." Warriors pulled himself back on his feet. "I'm turning in. Wallowing is always more comfortable on an actual bed."

As soon as Warriors left, Wind and Wild dropped down from the ceiling, Four and Hyrule returned to their normal sizes and Legend unmerged from the wall. 

"So that was the most fucking pathetic thing I have ever seen." Legend said. 

"Aww, but Warriors is in love!" Wind cooed. 

"Yeah, but he also can't get a single word out in front of his crush." Four pointed out. 

"Then we've got to help him!" Wild declared. "Luckily, you've got Hyrule's best matchmaker here to help!" 

Four snorted. "What? You?"

Wild pouted and crossed his arms. "I'll have you now, I've gotten couples together, arranged weddings and even saved a marriage! Some people know me as the Hero of Love!"

"Well your Hyrule is doomed." Legend deadpanned.

"Warriors and his Zelda would make such a cute couple." Hyrule sighed. 

Four’s brow quirked. "You sure it was the princess and not that other lady?"

Both Wild and Hyrule snorted. 

"Didn't you hear? The other lady was Impa." Wild said. "Maybe she's not an old hag in this era but do you really think Warriors would fall for someone so stern and strict?"

"But it was Impa he was stuttering and stumbling around." Four said.

Hyrule nodded. "If it's anything like the other eras, Impa's likely the princess's nursemaid or advisor or something and Warriors needs to get her approval if he wants to marry his Zelda."

"I dunno." Wind said, scrunching his face and crossing his arms. "He and Zelda look like good friends - like me and Tetra. It just seems...icky to marry your friend."

Hyrule ruffled the sailor's hair. "Wait a couple more years and you'll understand."

"So what's your plan, oh wise and honourable Hero of Love?" Legend said.

Wild gave a devilish grin. "Well it seems the only thing that our dear captain is lacking is Impa's approval, so he's going to need to impress her and what better way is there than rescuing the princess?" 

"Kidnapping time!" Wind cheered with unnerving enthusiasm. 

"...I should have sided with Time." Four muttered. 

He turned to Legend for some support but the veteran just shrugged. 

"Serves them right for having crappy security."

* * *

There were guards posted at the princess's room. At least they couldn't fault the security for being completely incompetent. The soldiers stood vigilantly with perfect posture and weapons ready for an attack. Sadly, like many people, they failed to look at anything above their immediate line of sight - a blind spot that was constantly exploited by Sheikah and heroes attempting a royal kidnapping. 

Wild and Wind dropped from the rafters and onto the two guards, silently knocking them out without a single sound save for the unconscious bodies hitting the ground. However, that was more than enough to wake the room's occupant. A figure in a white nightgown with long hair emerged from the bedroom almost immediately. 

"Wha -" 

But that was the only peep before she was knocked out from behind. No one ever checked the high corners and painting moving on the wall would always be passed off as a minor hallucination. 

A fairy Hyrule fluttered over their soon to be kidnappee's prone form. "Wasn't there any other way to knock her out?" 

Legend sheathed his sword. "Nothing works better than blunt force trauma." 

"I'm sure she'll be on board with our plan once we explain it to her." Wild said. "...but we can't risk her alerting every guard in the palace."

"This plan has bad idea written all over it." Four muttered from Wind's shoulder.

Legend hoisted the princess over his shoulder, careful to keep his hands away from anywhere indecent. "Well too late now. Let's get the fuck going before the whole castle is on our asses." 

Several blades of water shot out of the shadows, imbedding themselves around the heroes and trapping them in place.

"What?!"

"Where-?!"

Impa emerged from the shadows, a giant blade in hand and an utterly pissed expression across her face.

"I had suspicions we were being spied on." The Sheikah growled, hands at the hilt of her blade and a blue magic circle glowing beneath her. "Release your captive now and you will be shown some mercy." 

The three full-sized heroes quickly exchanged a glance. 

Then Legend said, "How about - no."

Impa quickly drew her blade but Four was quicker. Even though he was still Minish-sized, his items still had their full effects. He let out a burst of wind from his gust jar, dispelling the water swords. 

Impa leapt into the air. She dropped down onto the heroes with a spinning strike but Wild blocked the blow with his knight's claymore - the impact shattering his weapon. 

"Oh come on!" 

His foe was relentless. Before Wild could equip another weapon, Impa dashed forward for a follow-up strike. Wind dove and intercepted the attack - parrying with his shield. 

However, that wasn't enough to stop his foe's barrage. Impa continued to batter at Wind's shield. Though the wood was sturdy and enchanted, there was only so much abuse it could take before it cracked. 

Grabbing one of the soldier's spears, Wild leaped up - intending to land an attack from behind. But Impa made a swift spin attack, breaking through Wind's guard and knocking Wild against the opposite wall. Both heroes fell to the ground - stunned but not unconscious. 

Legend reached for his sword but there wasn't much he could do with a person slung over his shoulder. 

Wild tried to pull himself up but Impa stepped between his shoulder blades - forcing him back onto the floor. 

"Surrender now." Impa demanded, blade pointed at Legend. 

Before Legend could respond, there was a clang. Impa fell forward, unconscious, with a now full sized Hyrule standing behind her with his shield raised. He quickly used the life spell to bring Wild and Wind back up to health and helped them back onto their feet.

A shout sounded from the distance followed by the deafening clang of bells. 

"Well there's Time's signal." Wind joked. 

"Maybe we should stop this here." Hyrule said nervously, staring down at the general's prone form. "This is getting out of hand too quickly."

"No. The plan's getting even better." Wild smirked, sling Impa over his shoulder. 

"There's no way we can bring the both of them!" Legend said. 

"Why not?" Wild shrugged. "This is all to help Warriors impress Impa and what's better than rescuing one kidnapped ally than rescuing two kidnapped allies?"

"We are going to get hanged when we get caught." Four groaned. 

"If we get caught." Wild corrected.

"Well we better get the fuck moving." Legend said, retreating into the bedroom. "The hallways are probably already swarming with guards so our best bet is out a bedroom window." 

"Hey! Isn't that Warriors' scarf?" Wind said, grabbing the fabric strewn over a chair. 

"Looks like pretty boy had a little tumble with his princess." Legend smirked. 

"Less chatting, more escaping!" Four hissed. 

The sound of running footsteps and clanking armour was getting closer. 

Wind dropped the scarf and followed the other heroes out the window. 

But none of them saw a small ball of light emerge from the curtain as Proxi zipped off into the night.

* * *

Time was expecting the bells ringing through the night. He sighed and slung his sword over his shoulder. Twilight and Sky stumbled out of bed, both still fully dressed. 

"C'mon, time for damage control." Time said. 

Sky sighed. "And here I was looking forward to a night on a nice soft bed." 

Twilight gave a half-asleep groan of approval.

But before they could move a muscle, two Sheikah warriors dropped from the ceiling and had knives to Sky and Twilight's neck as a blade pressed against his own. 

"How dare you?!" Proxi shrieked, zooming right up to Time's face that he could see her scowl through her fairy glow. "Link said you were trustworthy and you repay him by kidnapping the princess and general?!"

"They did what?!" Twilight said.

The fairy swiftly flew over to his face. "Don't play dumb! You know what your companions did!"

Sky shot Time a nervous look but the old man simply smiled. 

Proxi let out a high-pitch growl and zipped back to Time. "Don't think this is funny! You will all be punished severely when your allies are caught!"

"But is it not the princess behind me?" Time said, casting a side-eye glance. "Oh right, you prefer to be called Sheik when dressed like this." 

The grip on his arms tightened and the knife was pressed closer to his neck. "How do you know?!" Sheik demanded. 

Time smirked. "Do you want me to reenact your poor flirting attempts for Ruto? Or how about the tale of when Epona kicked you in the face when you were leading her to the stable?" 

"Young Link?" Sheik said with disbelief, though her grip on the blade didn't falter.

"There's no way this could be Young Link!" Proxi yelled. "He's too old!" 

"Aww, even after all those bowls of sugar water you still haven't warmed up to me?" Time teased. "Children grow up, y'know."

"You're lying! Link would have told us if he was travelling with an older Young Link!"

"Link was also in lovestruck dumbass mode because Impa was going to be at the meeting." Sheik groaned. She lowered her knife and the other Sheikah reluctantly did the same. "I should have gotten a full debriefing out of him in private."

"I am slightly concerned about how much you know about Warriors' Hyrule." Twilight said, rubbing a hand around his neck. 

Time shrugged. "This isn't my first interdimensional frolic." 

Sheik stepped out from behind Time to get a better look at the other two heroes. "I should have recognised you sooner. You're the Chosen Hero and those are Twili markings - so that makes you the Hero of Twilight."

"You know of us?" Twilight asked. 

"You can thank the guardian of time and her obsession with heroes." Sheik said. 

Proxi frantically darted around the room. "If these three are heroes, does that mean that those kidnappers who grabbed Link and the general are heroes as well?!" 

"The others kidnapped the captain?!" Twilight exclaimed. 

"I know they're mad but isn't that a little drastic?" Sky said.

And any mirth Time had from teasing his old allies immediately dissipated and was replaced with the onset of a headache. There was no easy way out of this mess.

"They kidnapped someone they thought was the princess." Sheik clarified. "Put Link in a wig and a dress and we're near indistinguishable - especially in the dark. Impa had suspected that someone had been spying on us so Link and I switched rooms." 

Twilight groaned and buried his face in his hands. "This has Wild written all over it. I thought Four would have enough common sense to reign his back - fuck, even Legend should have seen this was a bad idea." 

Sky patted him on the back. "Well at least it's just them and not an actual threat. I'm sure they'll come straight back as soon as they realise they have Warriors with them." 

Time furrowed his brows. "But attempting to kidnap the princess, that's extremely uncharacteristic even for Wild." Then his eyes widened as realisation struck. "Fuck." 

"That's not good." Twilight muttered. 

Time quickly turned to Sheik. "Did Cia and Lana return everyone to their original eras?"

"They should have but the barriers of time and space were severely weakened by the war and we're still experiencing some overflow and-" Sheik stopped as she came to the same conclusion. "Fuck."

"Fuck, fuck what?" Twilight asked. 

But Sheik ignored him and turned to Sky. "Does the name Ghirahim sound familiar to you?" 

The normally calm and bright hero immediately darkened. "That bastard is here?" He growled. 

"Now Sky's swearing?!" Twilight squeaked. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?!"

"Apologies pup," Time said. "Ghirahim is an enemy from Sky's era that took part in the interdimensional war of this Hyrule."

"He's an agent of Demise and an utter bastard." Sky added with a scowl. 

"He also had the ability to turn our own forces against us." Sheik lowered her head. "There was no way to snap them out of it so we were forced to kill our own men." 

Twilight staggered back in horror. "No...you're saying - that we have to..." 

"It's only speculation and even if it is Ghirahim, we'll find a way to break them free." Time said solidly. "But first, we need to rescue the general and the captain before it's too late."


	3. "Oh." by Impa

Impa slowly stirred to consciousness. 

She was being carried. 

The kidnappers.

She kept her eyes closed and slowed her breathing - it would do her no good if her captors found out she was awake. The person holding her was shorter than average - a teenager most likely based on the voices she had heard previously. An extremely strong and well trained teenager based on the previous fight and the current speed they were moving at. Though she hadn't been able to make out many of the invaders' details in the dark hallway, there was no mistaking the Sheikah emblem on one of their chests. The guardians of time had warned that a faction of Sheikah would turn against the crown and splinter off from the clan but Impa never expected it to come to pass so soon. 

The smell of plains grass filled the air with a distant hint of forest ferns. They were moving south across Hyrule Fields and towards Faron Woods. Yes, they were moving too fast for the kidnappers to be anything less than renegade Sheikah,  _ dyeru-sida _ . Impa tried to think of who could have defected but no names immediately sprung to mind. Whoever it was, no mercy will be shown once they are brought to justice. 

"This should be far enough." The one carrying her said. 

The scent wasn't strong enough to indicate that they had made it all the way to Faron Woods but the smell of dirt and shrubbery indicated they had stopped in one of the lesser forests just before it. A musty earthy stench identified that they had taken rest in a cave. 

Impa was set down surprisingly gently and she felt another body leaned against her back. The 'princess'. 

'Awake?' she tapped in Morse against Link's wrist.

No response. 

He must still be unconscious - not that she blamed him, the kidnappers hadn't been delicate in knocking him out.

There were two heavy thuds. Were they dropping supplies? Or was it something else?

"This plan is going terribly." One voice said.

"No it's going wonderfully!" her carrier, and likely the leader, said. "All we need now is for the captain to find us!" 

Fuck. This was all a trap for the hero. However a part of Impa couldn't help but snort - the kidnappers inadvertently had their target in their grasp. 

"We're going to have to put up a fight - or at least pretend to." A third voice said. 

A fourth snorted. "That was a given." 

"Well I'm tired! Mind cooking something up, Wild?" 

Wait - that was a fifth voice, much younger than the rest but still distinct. Impa had counted three invaders plus a likely fourth who had knocked her out from behind. Had they picked up another ally along the way? How many more should she be expecting to join them? 

"Yeah, I'll whip up something quick. How about fried wild greens?"

Wild. So they were using codenames. This operation was far too organised to be the whims of some mischievous youths. 

A fire was started followed by the shuffling of cooking utensils. She heard a set of footsteps approaching. Her ankles were tied together and her wrists were bound. 

"Hey Legend! Whatcha doing?" the young captor said. 

"A precaution. You saw how she fought and I'm not taking any chances." 

"But isn't that a little overboard?" another asked. "We don't actually want to hurt them..." 

‘Legend’ scoffed. "We're already this far deep, we might as well go all the way." 

The knots were tight and firm but not overly painful. This ‘Legend’ knew what he was doing but wasn't going out of his way to be excessively cruel. A small mercy. But he still sounded so painfully young.

"Well if you're taking precautions, got anything that can suppress magic?" another captor, the first speaker from before, said.

"Not on me at the moment." ‘Legend’ sighed. "We better hope that her weapon was her focal point or else be prepared for more water swords."

Yes, her weapons helped Impa channel her magic but it wasn't completely inaccessible without them. The first opening she got, Impa was going to bring out her  _ fire  _ against these fools.

Impa listened and waited as the kidnappers went about their evening meal. The smell of cooked vegetables filled the air and from the smell alone, she could tell that 'Wild' was an excellent cook. Maybe she can torture some recipes out of him later. 

"Should we give them something to eat too?" the young captor said. 

"That's a good way to wake them up and get headbutted in the face." 'Legend' snarked. 

The youngest captor huffed. "Hey! I'm just trying to be nice!"

Impa pitied the youngest captor, he was likely a naive boy dragged into this mess but justice couldn't be lenient on the young for a crime this severe. 

"If they wake up, we'll give them something to eat." The third voice from before said. 

The kidnappers returned to their meal and Impa continued to subtly tap against Link's hand. It was unusual for the captain to stay down for this long. That blow likely left him with a concussion - that made rousing him all the more important. 

Soon, the kidnappers went about organising their night watch. First would be the youngest captor, 'Wind', followed by 'Four', then 'Hyrule', then 'Wild' and finally 'Legend'. They were odd names to choose but there was an itching familiarity to them that Impa couldn't quite place.

With their watch focused on anyone approaching the cave rather than those occupying it, Impa took this as an opportunity to wake Link. She dug her fingernails into his hands and he awoke with a small yelp. 

' Quiet .' she quickly tapped. 

The captain immediately stilled. ' What happening ?' he tapped slowly.

That must be the concussion. ' Kidnapped. Spies in meeting. Likely Sheikah defectors. Five but young. Trap for hero .’

Link stiffened against her then tapped out four letters. ' Y-I-G-A '

' Who? ' Impa didn't recognise the name but it still filled her with dread. 

'Traitors from future.' Link tapped and Impa could feel the rage in his words. There would be no mercy for traitors.  'Weapons?'

'Knife in gauntlet. You?' 

Link paused then tapped,  'None.'

So they were in no position to fight back against their kidnappers.  'Escape first then reinforcements.'

The knots were extremely well done but Link was able to catch his bindings against the tip of her blade. As soon as he was freed, he made quick work of Impa's bindings. She noticed how sloppily he was moving, the dying embers of the fire reflected the dazed look in his eyes. He definitely had a concussion.

Before they could discuss their escape any further, a shout sounded from the mouth of the cave. The other kidnappers immediately woke up and rushed out to aid their youngest member. Thank Hylia, this was the opening they needed. Impa wasn't going to assume that it was their allies but a part of her hoped that it was the princess with a rescue team. 

Impa stood up and shook off the rest of the bindings. However, Link still sat dumbly on the ground, brow furrowed as he fixated on the sound of combat. 

"Move, captain!" Impa whispered harshly. 

"Shouldn't they be at the inn?" Link slurred.

Impa sighed and threw the captain over her shoulder with little resistance. There was no time for concussion ramblings now. 

With Link limp against her shoulder, Impa snuck out of the cave. The kidnappers were locked in combat with several forces of bokoblins and moblins with several stalmasters among their ranks. The composition of those forces were worryingly familiar but they were completely focused on the kidnappers, allowing Impa to slip pass undetected. 

They escaped into the forest with the sound of combat fading behind them. The trees gave way to bushes and a sheer cliff that stopped them from continuing forward. 

'Down please? ' Link tapped into her back. 

"You can't run in your current attire," Impa said quietly. 

There was a thud behind them. Impa gracelessly dropped the hero then drew her knife as she spun around. 

A stalmaster had followed them away from the battle. It roared with all four of its arms raised and armed. Being poorly equipped to face a captain-ranked monster meant that Impa would have to rely on her magic for this fight. 

The stalmaster’s eyes glowed red, telegraphing its next move. It charged at them. Impa quickly summoned a ball of water in the stalmaster’s path - pulling the stalmaster in and trapping it in the sphere. Normally she would then slash her trapped enemies away but she didn’t have her giant blade, only a tiny knife. 

The charge had revealed the stalmaster’s weakpoint which was still exposed. She conjured a dozen water daggers above the trapped monster but she could rain the blades down on it, the stalmaster threw its axe. There wasn’t enough time for her to completely dodge the weapon but she could probably still fight with a gash on her shoulder before she bled out- 

But then Impa was tackled to the ground and Link shrieked in pain as the flying axe grazed his back.

Link staggered back onto his feet, shielding Impa with his own body. The damage from the previous attack glared back at her, an angry bloody cut that rivalled the dragonfire scar on his left arm. He had no weapon, no armour - was he hoping for the goddesses to once again show their favour and shield him with their golden power? 

That was recklessly idiotic.

...but Impa couldn't help it where her heart gave a warming thump. 

Then she did something that was even more reckless and doubly idiotic. 

Impa grabbed Link around the waist and leapt off the cliff. 

Link was frozen in shock and even Impa couldn't believe her own impulsiveness. However, there was no time to contemplate that now. They were plummeting to the ground in an unrestrained freefall and if they didn't do something quickly it was going to be the end of the both of them. 

Impa spied a ledge with a cave several metres below them. As they fell pass it, another stupid idea struck her. She had never attempted this with her magic before but hopefully it wouldn't fail her now. She conjured a water blade and threw it into the cliff side. Tightening her grip on Link, she flipped midair so that her feet would land on the blade. It bent and bowed from the impact and momentum but thankfully it didn't break. The blade sprung back and they were launched upward, just enough to reach the ledge. They landed safely if not a little bruised. 

Impa entered into the cave and then released the hero. She slumped back against the wall in a rare display of weakness, panting and thoroughly exhausted. She glanced over at Link. The hero curled into himself in a vain attempt to preserve his modesty with the ruined nightgown. Though the long hair of the wig obscured most of his face but there was no hiding that luminescent red. 

Oh right. The hero hated her.

For as long as Impa had known him, Link always had a blush of rage whenever he had to deal with her. Whether it was a slight tinge or a full burning face, that redness had always been there without fail. His hatred must be so great, so much so that he could never speak a proper word in front of her despite the many times she had seen him laughing and joking with literally anyone else. 

Honestly, Impa didn't blame him. She was the one who stripped him of his soldier anonymity and forced him into the hero's limelight. She had thrust him into the witch's line of fire and forced him to slaughter the soldiers he had trained, ate and slept with. If it weren't for her moment of weakness, then there would have been no need to demand so much from Link. 

For the sake of propriety, Impa never let her hurt show. She shielded herself with formalities and the Sheikah stiff upper lip. There was a war to be fought, duties to fulfil - but nothing could stop the stab of pain whenever Link's words came to a halt and his fairy adjutant took over speaking for him. 

But in this cold dark cave, there was no avoiding each other.

Link clutched the remains of thin fabric over his chest and kept his eyes trained on the ground. Even now, he refused to look her in the eye.

"How are you faring, hero?" Impa asked evenly. 

Link shivered, from the cold or from his anger or possibly even both. "I - I..." he stumbled, his words coming out slow and sluggish. 

He released his hands from his gown and attempted to sign but his concussion made his words muddled and indecipherable. 

Impa sighed. "May I have an honest word with you, captain?"

No response. He could be ignoring her or it could just be the concussion. 

Impa repeated her question and Link slightly inclined his head. 

After several failed attempts, he managed to sign a simple, " _ yeah? _ "

Impa took a deep breath. No matter how dramatic his reaction will be, at least they had this isolation to save the both of them some face. 

"Do I really fill you with that much anger that you can't even find the words to speak?" 

Impa braced herself for an outburst but there was silence. 

Link was staring at her, face still red but his bright blue eyes wide and gleaming with confusion. 

_ "I...hate you? _ " Link signed slowly, as if he couldn't believe her question. It must be the concussion. It had to be the concussion. 

"You've hidden it well. Your control of your emotions is highly commendable but if we are to make it through this situation, it would be best that we make our emotions clear." 

Link blinked at her owlishly. Impa couldn't help but think of how adorable he looked - but the hero had many admirers. Lovers with power and beauty that she could never measure up to. Some that desired him so much that they would start a war. There was no way she would be able to compete in the race for his love. 

Link pulled the wig off, letting his natural bangs fall over his eyes as his fingers fiddled with the synthetic hair. Impa thought they were making progress to at least be on tolerable terms but here he was refusing to respond. 

Impa sighed and resigned herself to the current stalemate. Of course, if his hatred ran that deep-

"I love you." 

Impa nearly fell flat on her face but caught herself just in time. She scrambled to regain her composure. Her ears must be deceiving her. Yes, she had heard Link's voice before but this was the first time he directly spoke to her. 

Link stared at her with that unshakeable determined look that she had seen so many times on the battlefield. 

"I love you." He said again. 

Impa wildly shook her head. "That's the concussion speaking." 

"Yeah, it's the concussion." Link said, slurred yet serious. "But I love you."

Impa was dumbstruck. Her words caught in her throat. 

"Why?" she asked softly.

"Too many reasons." Link said. "Too many reasons."

Now that had to be a cop out. "Do you mind listing some of them?" Impa said, trying to maintain some composure. 

"You respect me." Link said immediately. "You don't eye me like a piece of meat or a trophy to be won." 

"That's basic human decency." Impa protested. 

Link's expression dropped. "It's a rarity that very few people give me."

And there was a painful truth to his words. Link's reputation of being 'pretty' preceded him by months before Impa had met him. She had heard the officers squabble over this new recruit like he was a prized cattle and soldiers conspiring to lure him into their beds. By the Sacred Realm, they had fought an entire war because a witch couldn't contain her lust for the hero. Even the princess wasn't faultless. Impa had seen how she contemplated the Lord Paramount of Faron’s many marriage proposals for Link’s hand - the temptation of selling him off to secure peace for the land. 

So sadly, yes, Impa was one of the few people who treated Link like a person. 

"That's one reason." Impa said. "But there has to be more."

"You're smart. Not just knowing a lot of things but - y'know, smart smart." Link's concussion was catching up to him as he fumbled to find his words. "You're smart - there's a good head on your shoulders. You're the...the...the braincell of the entire army - we would be nothing without you. You combine strategy with mundane knowledge to create battle tactics that the gods should fear. The glowly wisdom triangle should have chosen you, not Zelda." 

"That's blasphemy!" Impa exclaimed. 

"That's the truth." Link countered. "It's proof that the goddesses are idiots for passing over you for the magic triangle." 

"Are you saying that the princess is undeserving of the triforce of wisdom?" 

"I'm saying that you would have come up with a better solution than convincing that entire kingdom that you were kidnapped while running around under a second identity." 

"Touche." Impa conceded. That had been an utterly idiotic plan. "So that's two."

"You're skilled and strong. Really skilled and strong. No one moves like you on the battlefield or matches your control. You've mastered the giant blade and the naginata as well as tailored two different elemental magic styles to those weapons." 

Impa scoffed. "If this is about combative skill, then take a look at yourself. You've mastered seven different forms of combat and six of the seven magic styles." 

"And how many of those were based on my own merit and dedication and not on the random items I acquired?" Link said. "Besides, this is about you, not me. You can talk about me later if you want."

"Oh how humble, hero." But Impa couldn't stop the smile from forming. "So three." 

"It's also a pleasure when you kick my ass in training." Link said with a cheeky grin. 

Impa tried to scowl but her smile refused to leave. "That's three."

"Fo-ur~" Link chimed. 

"Three reasons." Impa said firmly but Link didn't lose that goofy smile. "Continue, captain."

"You're bold and giving and always put others before yourself. You always make sure your troops come back alive even if it means taking a greater burden upon yourself." Then Link's expression hardened. "Remember to take care of yourself as well. You can't save everyone." 

"Pots and kettles, captain." Impa said. "Don't think I haven't noticed you do the same." 

"But you don't have the divine favour of the golden goddesses. They won't let me die until they're done with me - you don't have that." 

"That is a dangerous mentality to have." Impa said sternly. 

"Dangerous yes, but it's the truth." Link said. "So that's five reasons."

"Four reasons." Impa corrected. 

Then she paused. Smart, strong, bold...

"Are you implying that I would be worthy of the whole triforce?!" Impa exclaimed. 

Link smirked. "I can think of no one else more deserving. You have a balance between the goddesses' qualities that none of the individual wielders ever had. Ganondorf was powerful but to the point of cruelty. Zelda is wise but to the point of ignorance. I'm courageous but to the point of recklessness. You have none of these in excess." 

"But that's the power of the goddesses!"

"You are a goddess in my eyes. One that I would wholly dedicate my life to for the privilege to bask in your presence." Then Link paused and blinked. He stared at her with wide eyes - beautiful blue eyes that she now understood were filled with admiration and not disgust. "I actually said that. I was actually able to talk to you." 

"That you did." 

Both turned equally flushed and flustered with identical red cheeks. 

"I love you." Link said again - a simple phrase that carried the weight of the world.

Impa gave a small smile. "I don't doubt that now Link."

Link gasped. "That's the first time you used my name." 

"It is?"

Link nodded excitedly. "It is! It's always been 'captain' or 'hero' but now you actually called me Link!"

Then he paused, his expression dropping to simple wonder. Link crawled across the cave until he was seated right in front of Impa. 

"I love you." Link said. "I've loved you for so long and with all my heart...do you love me?"

"Yes." The answer escaped her lips automatically without a second thought. 

There was no way Impa could articulate her feelings like Link just had but she would wholeheartedly give him her love. For Link, she would kill and lay down her life. For Link, she would find her reason to live. 

Link didn't need another word more. He leaned closer until their noses were touching - the only time the short man would ever loom over her. 

"Can I kiss you?" Link whispered. 

"Yes." 

And Impa bridged the gap, pressing her lips against his. 

It was a simple sweet kiss. An honest kiss. The first of many. 

They pulled away and Link gave a glowing smile. 

"Concussions are great!" her beloved declared.

At any other moment, Impa would have scolded him for that idiocy. But instead, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close to her chest. Link's head rested on her heart and she could feel him breath in time with her heartbeat. 

"Rest now Link." Impa said, running her fingers through his hair. 

"Marry me?" Link said sleepily, just barely conscious. 

Impa smiled. "Yes."

But her love had fallen asleep. 

There were still the kidnappers to deal with as well as that hoard of monsters - but that could wait for the morning.

Right now, they rest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past Jay: yeah! got my otp together! only a couple more chapters and then this fic is finished!  
> Present Jay (25 LW sessions later): whennnn willl thiiisss ennndddd.....


	4. “Think she’ll teach me how to do that if I ask?” by Hyrule/"I’m going to pronounce you husband and wife?!” by Sky

Time had ridden many other horses before, but none of them would ever compare to the feeling of riding his Epona. Even now with her being a retired mare too old to be ridden into battle, their little canters through Hyrule Fields always had something special to them. A part of him envied Twilight who had been able to bring his loyal steed along with him for this shared adventure. 

He currently rode Warriors' Epona with Sheik clinging onto his waist. Despite the captain's steed having an air of familiarity to her, she was a born and bred warhorse through and through. There was a toughness to this mare, a steel that his ranch-raised Epona never acquired even after all the battles Time charged her into. This horse would never be spooked or rear up even when surrounded by hordes of monsters. However, she still had the same gentle nature that was universal to all her incarnations across time.

Time glanced to the side where Twilight rode alongside him, a rather travel sick Sky barely hanging onto his waist and looking very pale and green even under the sparse moonlight. Proxi flew between the two horses at speeds that Time never would have considered possible for a fairy. He remembered how Navi would cling to his cap or fly into his tunic if he ever rode at anything above a canter yet here was Proxi keeping up with a full gallop with no signs of faltering. War had given them all a unique edge that he would never dare envy.

The trail was easy to follow...too easy. It was as if the kidnapping heroes wanted to be found. Though he had been the one to suggest that exterior forces could be affecting their rogue allies, Time desperately prayed that this was just an elaborate and extremely inappropriate prank. Turncoats had never affected too deeply, at that point in his life it felt nothing could traumatize him further, but he had seen what having to kill a brother had done to Warriors, no matter how expertly he hid it, and Time hoped that it would never come to that again.

The trail led them to a modest forest south of Castletown bordering a deep ravine. The distant sound of combat echoed through the otherwise quiet night. 

"At least two forces worth of bokoblins and moblins with some stals with them - likely stalmasters," Proxi quickly identified.

Sheik nodded in agreement. "They don't sound organised - so it's unlikely that they have a captain with them but with that composition of enemies...it's best we keep our guard up."

"You can tell all that just from the sound?" Twilight asked with slight awe. 

"It's an acquired skill." Sheik replied. "We have the lives of hundreds of soldiers in our hands - men who all have lives and families waiting for them." 

An acquired skill - and a necessary one for the war captains. 

As the forest drew closer, Proxi's analysis was proven correct as they spied the monsters spilling out from the trees. Their wayward companions were completely surrounded by the enemy forces, forced into a tight circle as they fended off monsters that leaped at them. They were holding their own but it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. 

"Impa could have easily broken through those ranks and Link could have whittled down their numbers." Sheik muttered. "Where are they?"

"Let's just hope for their safety for now." Time said. 

Sheik sighed but conceded her worries. She leaped from Epona's back and dove right into the fray. Then, a large pulse of light magic erupted from the center of the crowd - scattering the enemy ranks and sending the monsters flying. Immediately after, the Prelude of Light chimed and a large golden square emerged on the battlefield.

Both riders brought their steeds to a screeching halt just before they set foot in the square. Sky and Twilight drew their swords, preparing to dismount and join the battle, but Time simply watched. From what he remembered of Sheik's combat style, this would be over quickly. He made a quick signal for Twilight to keep his distance, it would do him no good to be caught in the incoming attack.

The square dissipated and the sound of the harp once again filled air. A large circle of magic expanded out, just missing the three heroes. The remaining monsters weren't as lucky. They were pulled and pushed by the magic circle, pulsing in time with the beat until all the monsters were dead. Not even those who tried to retreat were spared. 

In a matter of minutes, the battle was over. 

"Now that's unfairly overpowered." Wild's voice echoed.

Twilight and Sky stared dumbly at the carnage with their weapons limp in their hands. Twilight's Epona whined at the scent of all the corpses and her rider broke out of his stupor to calm her. 

"...did we even need to be here?" Sky asked. 

"Nope." Time said as he led his steed through the piles of bodies, Epona not even flinching as she trod through the monster remains. 

There was no sign of any other enemies or, he pessimistically thought, none had chosen to reveal themselves. Hopefully it stayed that way and they wouldn't be anymore fighting tonight. 

As he rode to the epicenter, Time found Sheik standing on guard for another attack while their kidnapping heroes stood exhausted and wearily as they sized up their mysterious rescuer. That's right - as far as Time was aware, only himself and Warriors had ever worked with a Sheik. 

Wild immediately perked up and lowered his weapon when he saw Time ride into the clearing. The hero was reckless and impulsive but he was also naive and trusting. 

"Hi Time!" Wild greeted cheerily only to get an elbow in the ribs from Four. 

"Don't be so happy!" Four scolded. "Do you know how much trouble we're in!"

"At least you're aware of it." Time said, dismounting just as Twilight entered the clearing leading Epona by her reins with Sky trailing behind him. 

He internally sighed in relief, this wasn’t like the previous possessed soldiers they had faced in the past. Either these boys were more reckless than he gave them credit for or this was deeper betrayal waiting to strike. With a gleam of optimism, Time believed in the former. 

"A friend of yours?" Legend asked cautiously with his eyes trained on Sheik.

Sheik straightened but didn't sheath her weapon. "I am Sheik of the Sheikah Clan and-"

"-Is more commonly known as Princess Zelda." Time cheekily added, earning him a dirty look. 

"Warriors' princess is a ninja?!" Wild exclaimed.

"A princess with that much magic..." Hyrule said in awe with slight disbelief. 

Wind shrugged, trying to hide his awe with disinterest. "Tetra's also a pirate so a ninja isn't that much of a stretch."

"Figured. Sheik's a stupid name." Legend said, finally lowering his sword.

"Uh guys..." Four said. "If that's the princess, then who did we kidnap?"

"Warriors." Time said. He suppressed a smirk while internally counting down.

3...2...1...

"WHAT?!"

Wild let out a high pitched whine and looked a moment away from fainting from embarrassment. 

"Dear goddesses, we kidnapped Warriors," Hyrule said, his voice cracking slightly. 

"I know it was dark but we should have recognised him," Wind mumbled. 

Legend awkwardly clenched and unclenched his hands. "But I felt...so that means Warriors is..."

Four buried his face in his hands. "I knew it. I knew it. This plan is an utter disaster."

As much fun as it would be to tease the other heroes, Time had to play the scolding authority figure now. "Care explaining what sort of plan would involve kidnapping a princess?"

"Well Mr Matchmaking Hero of Love here," Four said, elbowing Wild. "Thought that the best way to help the captain out with his troubled love life was to kidnap the princess then have him rescue her to impress the general lady." 

Wild just gave another embarrassed whine. 

"Now that's an entirely new level of stupid." Twilight said. 

There was a poorly hidden gleam of Sheik's eye. "He's that obvious, huh?"

"Yup." Wind said. "We really had to do something and so we went with Wild's stupid plan." 

"In Wild's defence, it sounded like a good idea in theory." Hyrule said, throwing an arm over Wild's shoulder.

"And kidnapping Impa was also part of the plan?" Sheik asked. 

Hyrule shrugged. "It was a spur of a moment thing."

"Guess we better untie pretty boy now." Legend said. "Fuck, he'll be holding this over our heads forever."

"I will stand by that I thought this was a bad idea from the beginning." Four said. 

"Fuck you, you went along with it anyway so you're stuck in this pit with the rest of us." 

While Four and Legend continued to bicker, Time again sighed in relief. This was nothing but a misguided attempt to help. The sooner they retrieved Warriors, the sooner they can go back to town and finally enjoy those devilishly soft beds at the inn. Scolding and apologies could wait for the morning.

Unfortunately, their night wasn't over yet. When they went into the cave, they only found cut ropes with Warriors and Impa nowhere in sight.

* * *

Warriors noticed two things when he woke up: a splitting headache and a warm body beneath him.

Fuck, he was supposed to go straight to bed - and pretend to be Artemis just in case of any kidnapping attempts. He didn't remember going into town and-

He cracked open his eyes but his vision was completely blurry. A wave of nausea joined his headache. The back of his skull throbbed painfully. So a concussion and a hangover? No, there wasn't a lingering alcohol taste on his tongue so just a concussion - hopefully. He just wanted to go back to sleep but he needed to know where he was. 

His nose finally registered a damp musty smell and his ears rang with a hollow ambiance. So he was in a cave - and probably kidnapped. Fuck. 

Warriors shifted and he felt a pair of arms tighten around him. A part of him started to panic. While he was unconscious, did one of the kidnappers -

"Morning Link." 

That was Impa.

Fuck,  _ that was Impa _ . 

Blood immediately rushed to his cheeks as the fuzzy memories from the previous night returned to him. He had - then he said - and then they -!

He buried his burning face in the closest thing, which just happened to be the nape of Impa's neck. His face burned even hotter but he was too sluggish to do anything more. 

"I really said all that." Warriors mumbled. 

"You did." Impa said and Warriors could hear the smile in her voice. 

Impa caressed the back of his head, soothing the bump. It was such a simple caring touch but it warmed him so deeply. 

Warriors forced his head up and stared at Impa through his blurry vision. There were patches of dirt in her hair, scratches on her cheek and bags under her eyes that would never truly fade as long as she had her duties. But contentment shined in her eyes, a brightness that not even the goddesses could compare to. And she was smiling at him - for him.

Wait, he had actually admitted he saw her as a goddess last night. He confessed his love.

Warriors’ face flushed with embarrassment and he buried himself deeper into Impa's collar. He was finally able to talk with Impa - while completely concussed and with no brain to mouth filter. 

"I really said all that," he repeated. Dammit, he confession was supposed to be something poetic and romantic - not some barely conscious babblings and ramblings. 

"Do you regret it?" 

Warriors had always loved Impa's voice. He loved absolutely everything about her, Artemis had a ridiculous amount of blackmail material to attest to that, but her voice was something endearing. Where he would find himself fumbling for words, Impa always had a steadfast confidence that carried through whenever she spoke. It grounded him, gave him a solid foundation to fall back on when the chaos of the battlefield grew too much. Her words were still unwaveringly strong but there was an underlying tenderness that he had never heard before. It made his heart skip a beat and continue thumping at an impassioned pace. 

He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his cheek against her chest. "No - not for as long as I live."

"And marriage?" 

Warriors would have loved that tone of amusement if it wasn't directly at his expense. He both cursed and blessed his concussed self. 

"A simple wedding - ring, cup and vows." Warriors said, pushing thoughts away from the little notebook he had kept since he was a child and the precious heirloom he had entrusted into Artemis’s care. As much as he wanted it, anything more would be completely impractical in a time of war. 

"Don't you want something more?"

Warriors crushed the suspicion that Artemis leaked something - he had sworn her to secrecy. "I have you. You have me. The world isn't perfect. I'm just grateful mine is."

He peered up and - was Impa blushing?

"Save that for the vows." Her voice didn't betray her but her face grew redder by minute. 

Warriors grinned. "I assure you, I will give you the most glorious vows and I will etch yours into my soul."

"Just as long as you're the one speaking and not your fairy." 

More blood rushed to his face in embarrassment. "I won't need to hide behind Proxi - not anymore."

Warriors sighed as he fell back onto Impa's chest. Yes this was a dark musty cave but he would happily stay like this forever. 

He breathed in and out. Wait -

Warriors looked up at Impa again. "You did my bindings?"

Impa stubbornly maintained eye contact despite her face growing a bright red. "I had to treat the wound on your back before it got infected so I thought to do them as well. Are they too tight?" 

Warriors slowly breathed in and out, air flowing through his lungs freely. "No, they're perfect." He smiled. "Can you teach me how you did it?"

"You already have a proper binder." 

"It'll be something handy to know."

“Then who am I to deny you?” And she was smiling again. Like a glorious sunrise, he would forever treasure the sight and never grow tired of it.

He breathed again, savoring the flow of air as a new warmth thrummed in his heart. This was such a simple inconsequential thing but every breath was a reminder that he fell in love, that he was betrothed to, to an absolutely amazing and spectacular person.

Impa shifted to stand up and Warriors whined in protest. 

"We can stay longer." Warriors said. 

"No." Impa said sternly yet gently. "We need to get moving."

Warriors sighed, there was no room to argue here. "I am not looking forward to dealing with Legend and the others after I dropped them at the inn." 

Impa stiffened underneath him. "Legend?" 

"The Hero of Legend." Warriors clarified. "The Link that Ravio spoke of. These new portals did more than just drag me into other eras - it also brought me together with other heroes. You should see Young Link now! He grew up so well, and he's married too! Since he's here, we have to include the thrice bound cord in the ceremony-"

"The Hero of Legend," Impa said slowly. "The Hero of Hyrule, the Hero of Wind, the Hero of Wild, the Hero of Four..."

"The Hero of the Four Sword." Warriors corrected, but Impa's tone while listing off the heroes was worrying. "Did you meet them already?" 

"They were the spies in the meeting - the ones who conspired to kidnap the princess." 

Warriors took a deep breath and tried to steady himself as memories of traitors and turncoats flooded his mind. Not again. Not again. He didn't want to turn his blade on another set of brothers.

Impa's arms tightened around him and in turn he fell deeper into her embrace. 

"Le - let's assume mischief over malice." Warriors said shakily. "This could all be Wild's retaliation for me messing with his stuff." He laughed awkwardly but there was no hiding the lurking fear that chilled his soul.

Impa ran her hand down his back - a simple little comfort to chase away the demons of the past.

There was a thump at the entrance of the cave. Impa quickly shifted into a battle-ready stance with her knife drawn while shielding Warriors with her body. 

"Guys! I found them!" And Warriors recognised that voice. 

Peering over Impa's shoulder, he saw Sky's familiar figure standing in the mouth of the cave. 

Maybe it was from the phantom memories, the excitement of his proposal, his lingering concussion or a combination of all three, Warriors blurted out, "Sky! I want you to officiate our wedding!"

* * *

With the sun rising as they were pulled out of the ravine, Warriors proudly proclaimed, “There’ll be a wedding as soon as we get back to Castletown.”

He ignored the exclamation of “WHAT?!” from the other heroes and instead looked behind him. Sky was rightfully flustered by his sudden proposition and Impa was - composed. Perfectly professional and neutral. Right. Sheikah duty didn’t afford her to be so open with her feelings in public. He hoped it was just Sheikah duty.

Proxi zipped over to Warriors and instantly started fussing over him but the fairy's words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. 

Artemis, in her Sheik guise, came to his side and gave him a gentle congratulatory pat. "So you finally found your voice and your courage." 

"The wonders of kidnappings and concussions." He stole a quick side-glance to find Impa’s unreadable sternness but her fingers were still entwined with his. He chased that simple sensation and grinned. "Maybe we should try it more for politics."

"No." Impa said immediately but he heard the slightest smile in her voice and latched onto it. 

Warriors gave her a cheeky nudge. "Well if there are any stubborn nobles, I'm more than happy to throw on the wig and gown again-" 

"No." But he saw it. This smallest of grins just touching her lips.

"You okay Sky?" Hyrule asked, going over to his fluster friend. 

"Did you see something that could never be unseen?" Legend asked. 

"Warriors asked me to officiate his wedding." Sky said meekly. "He has to be joking. There's no way I could do something that important! I've never done anything like that before!"

Warriors pulled away from his old companions to join Sky's side. "I'm completely serious. You're under no pressure to do so but the celebrant is someone who carries out the will of Hylia the Blessed and I can think of no one better for the role than her Chosen Hero." 

A newfound confidence sparked in Sky's eyes. "I would be absolutely honoured." 

"You going to do something about your clothes, captain?" Legend pointed out. "Doubt you want to be riding into Castletown looking like that."

At that moment, the top of the gown flopped forward. Warriors quickly wrapped his arms around his chest to hold it up. His borrowed nightgown was completely soiled with a large tear down the back exposing the gauze and bandages around his chest. Time knew but the others didn’t. He never found the right time to tell them. The bandages could easily be construed for injuries but- 

Warriors bowed his head, feigning embarrassment because he didn’t want to find judgement in their eyes. "Yeah...that would be a good idea..."

Impa and Artemis had to leave for Castletown first in order to settle the commotion from the previous night. Warriors wanted to lean over for a parting kiss but he stopped himself. Sheikah duty didn’t allow for public displays of affection. Then Impa wrapped her scarf around Warriors' neck. 

"It would do you no good to be sick during your own wedding." 

Warriors buried his flustered face in her scarf, a tangible token of affection. He was grateful to have a part of his beloved with him until they meet again. 

"I love you." Warriors said quietly. 

Impa slightly blushed. "Will you ever grow tired of saying that?"

"Never. Not until the day I die." 

"Come on, general." Artemis said with a smile. "You'll have more time during the ceremony."

The heroes made their way back to the capital at a much leisurely pace. Wild proudly led the group with all of his previous embarrassment being replaced with smugness. 

"I told you my plan would work!" Wild boasted. "To think that you all doubted me!" 

"We know. That's the fifteenth time you said that and yes, I've been counting." Four deadpanned. 

"I can't believe we're going to have a wedding." Wind said excitedly. 

"I can't believe that pretty boy's the next one to get hitched." Legend said. "Though with the way things currently are, they won't have much time to enjoy their marriage..."

"Don't dampen the mood now!" Wind pouted.

Legend shrugged. "I'm just saying. The moment another portal pops up, we have to leave."

"Just live in the moment for now and leave those worries for another time." Four said. 

"Yeah!" Wild said. "Warriors and his Zelda are going to have an amazing wedding!"

The other three heroes quickly exchanged glances. 

"Should we-?"

"Nah, let the idiot find out for himself."

Sky walked behind the four leading heroes, head buried in his prayer book while Hyrule made sure he didn't bump into anything.

"Can't this wait until after we make it back to the in?" Hyrule asked. 

Sky looked him dead in the eye. "Absolutely not. Warriors gave me this honour and there's no way I'm letting him down. What do you think about this verse." He said, shoving the book in Hyrule's face. "A little dense and archaic but I think it has the vibe that they're going for."

"Uhh...I can't read..."

Twilight and Warriors brought up the rear on horseback with Time walking between the two steeds and Proxi fluttering above them. Warriors now wore the chainmail tunic that Time normally had under his armour. Under any other circumstances, Warriors would scold him for the unnecessary layers but he was too busy snuggling into Impa's scarf - reveling in its warmth and scent. More than once over their journey, Time or Proxi had to pull him out of his daze before he fell off his Epona. 

"So should I be calling Impa mom now?" Time asked cheekily. 

Twilight spluttered, nearly rearing up his Epona. "Wh -what?! You - Warriors - related?!"

"Legally." Warriors shrugged with his smirk hidden by the scarf. 

Twilight paled. "Does that mean you were previously married? Or had a-?"

"Link adopted Young Link when he first came to this Hyrule." Proxi clarified. "Honestly Link, you should know better than to tease your grandson."

"Grandson?!" Twilight squeaked. "You know about me and Time?!"

"There are records of all the previous heroes in the palace archives and that information played an integral part of the war." Warriors said. "So far it's only been a matter of finding out who's who."

"So you know about...?"

Warriors smirked. "You're a very  _ good boy _ ."

Twilight buried his face in Epona's mane. "I hate the both of you." 

Warriors and Time shared equally devilish grins. 

"Onto other matters," Time said. "Are you leaving us at the inn again while you return to the castle?"

Warriors bowed his head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time."

"You never think clearly when the general is involved." Proxi piped. 

Warriors groaned. "Don't remind me. I was such an idiot."

"You're still an idiot." 

"Thanks Proxi. You guys-” Warriors would be an even more terrible host than he already was if he sent the others back to some hastily booked inn after all this...and this would be the perfect time to tell them. At least he would be somewhere safe if there was any backlash. “Art- Princess Zelda will definitely have rooms prepared for all. Come with me to the castle."


	5. “He worries too much,” by Time/ “No one tells me anything!” by Wild

By late afternoon, the walls of Castletown were within sight. They could have arrived sooner but Warriors knew a force of monsters like the other heroes had faced always had stragglers and it only took one misplaced bokoblin to throw an entire fort into disarray. They encountered a variety of cannon fodder from across the eras but thankfully, none of them bled the telltale black of their current foe. It was tedious and time consuming but thankfully the other heroes understood the need to keep one’s home safe. 

Not that the others needed to know it but Warriors was also stalling. He had been reading through the army roster before his late night kidnapping and there was a certain someone currently stationed in Castletown that he would rather not cross path with if he could help it. There was no need for past lovers, especially persistent ones, to come by and tear down what happiness he finally found. 

Despite the ill-fitting chainmail, the horse and blue scarf, even if it was a different one, was enough for Warriors to be recognised on sight when they reached the city gates. His smile became wider and more forced when he spotted the green swirling emblem of the Faron province on one of the gatekeepers. The city was big. There were many people. The likelihood of bumping into one person out of thousands was miniscule. That wouldn’t change the fact that  _ he  _ would know Warriors had returned and would be actively searching. 

Warriors prayed that he would be married before then. 

Given how they all acted in Legend’s house, Warriors wasn’t surprised that nothing was treated as sacred when the other heroes followed him into Artemis’ chambers when he went to retrieve his normal clothes.

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about us ransacking your princess’s private chambers?” Twilight asked but Warriors saw how his eyes drifted to the Dominion Rod surrounded by several small statues. 

He shrugged. “It’s not like they’re doing any harm.” Many attempts had been made on the princess and anything that wasn’t replaceable was stored somewhere more secured. 

“It’s a waste for such a well-crafted sword to be used as a display.” Four said, eyeing the rapier on the mantel. “It still has several good years of battle left in it - that is, if your princess isn’t anything like Wild.” 

“Hey!” Wild yelped, drawn out of his mock fight with a training dummy.

“What, you can’t deny the truth.”

“Alright, poke everything that you want to poke and make yourselves presentable. We’ll be meeting up with the princess and the general after this.” Warriors said as he searched the closet for a fresh tunic.

“You keep your clothes in the princess’s chambers?” Hyrule asked. 

“It’s more practical that way.” Honestly, Warriors could probably claim these rooms as his own given how much time he spent here compared to Artemis. 

Wild gave a cheeky whistle but Warriors ignored him. The only thing between him and Artemis was a treasured lifelong friendship.

While he did find one of his tunics, a bright hero’s green free of any tears or stubborn bloodstains, he uncovered a familiar dress carefully folded in the very back. He quickly pulled his tunic over the borrowed chainmail and brought the dress into the light. Even after all these years, it was still a vibrant red with cotton soften from careful handling. 

He still remembered the day when his great-grandma pulled it out of storage. She didn’t scold him when his curious little hands had gotten tangled in the delicate fabric. Instead she laughed and cupped his chubby face in her spindly hands. 

“Would you wear this at your wedding, dear daughter? For me?” she had asked.

“I’m not a daughter, Gran-Gran.” he had said but he didn’t protest the idea of wearing it. It was a pretty dress and he liked being pretty. 

He remembered Uncle Jack staring down at him with exasperation and pity. There had been tears welling in Warriors’ eyes as he sat in an ill-fitting trainee tunic with hastily chopped hair and his hands wrapped in this dress like it was a lifeline. 

Men didn’t cry. Men didn’t wear dresses.

But it was such a pretty dress and it was the only thing that he had left from his hometown. It would be a waste to leave it rotting in storage for another generation. 

Warriors turned around just in time to see Proxi herd the rest of the heroes out of the bed chambers and into the connecting parlour. The same parlour where he had-

No.

It was a pathetic stupid hang up but there was no way he was coming out to them in the same room he had last time. There would be another opportunity. Otherwise, he could always hope that the others could connect the dots without him saying anything. They wouldn’t pry. He trusted that they wouldn’t. 

Warriors used his newfound privacy to make himself look presentable. Impa deserved a proper man. But even as he tightened his belt and replaced Impa’s scarf with his own, nothing in his reflection looked  _ right.  _ Warriors was proud of who he was but this wasn’t just about what he thought anymore. Impa deserved better. 

There were only so many hours left in the day and he couldn’t waste any more on loitering. 

Of course, the other heroes were drawn to the dress over his arm.

“Decided to raid the princess’s wardrobe while you were in there?” Legend said. “Though, that looks a little plain for royalty.” 

‘It’s mine’ is what he doesn’t say. “It’s something that I hope will be worn at the wedding.” He said instead of, ‘It’s something that I want to wear at the wedding.’ 

"Red?" Sky asked before anyone could question Warriors’ stiffness or odd phrasing. "But aren't the bride and groom's attire normally blue for Nayru's Love?"

“Wedding clothes are normally white in my era.” Wild piped. 

“Isn’t making an outfit you’re only going to wear once a waste?” Four said. “It would be easier just to wear the best of whatever you have.”

"For a normal wedding the clothes tend to be blue but this is a wartime wedding," Warriors explained. "Many soldiers are called to duty shortly after being married and many new brides soon become widows. We beseech Din's power to strengthen our bonds and to keep the fire of love burning even with the distance." 

And distance would be the first trial of their new marriage. A portal could sweep the heroes away any day now and he didn't want to leave with his love unbound.

Unsurprisingly, Impa and Artemis had bunkered down in the latter’s office. The nobles were sure to have things to whine about after the latest ‘kidnapping’ but none of them would dare approach the general’s domain. 

Warriors knocked on the door with a gentle,  “It’s Link.”  in Morse. Technically, he had the privilege to come and go as he pleased and he knew lesser officers often barged in on a whim but Impa was deserving of the courtesy and respect and so much more. 

“Come in.” Impa called. 

It was lucky that Impa’s office was so sparsely decorated or else it was unlikely that the small room could accommodate an extra nine people. 

“So the groom to be has finally returned.” Artemis said cheekily, straightening from her previous position of leaning against the wall. 

Impa showed no sign of amusement or displeasure, still completely unreadable. “I have the wedding date registered.” Then she raised a brow. "You already have a dress commissioned?"

Nothing could ever get past Impa’s sharp eye. Warriors took a deep breath and steeled himself. "It was my great-grandmother's." he said softly. "She was from a minor noble house and gave up all right to inheritance when she married a common blacksmith - the only thing she retained was the dress she was wed in. She kept it in perfect condition in hopes of having a daughter or granddaughter wear it - however, she only had sons and grandsons. She gave it to me before she passed away in hopes that I might find use for it but, well..." he gave an awkward shrug. "I turned out the way I did. Would you humour me and wear it for our wedding?"

Soft awws echoed were drowned out by Wild’s cry of “It’s Impa?!” Warriors was grateful though. That saved them from the awkward silence that would have ensured. 

Impa delicately took the dress into her hands. "I would be absolutely honoured but-"

But.

A million reasons raced through Warriors head in that second. The dress was too old fashion, she would prefer to have a Sheikah-styled gown, she didn't like dresses at all-

"I'm too tall for this and any alterations would wreck the seam work."

She held the dress out in front of her and the size difference was made all the more clear - the shoulders were too narrow, the waist of too thin, the skirt only reached midway to her shin.

"Hopefully we'll have a daughter who can make use of it." Warriors said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. 

"Hey! That dress is perfect for Warriors!" Wild said, quickly recovering from his stupor. 

The couple paused. Impa held the dress over Warriors and sure enough, it fit his form perfectly. 

A little flutter of hope danced in Warriors' heart but he had to crush it. "It isn't proper for men to wear dresses." He said solemnly.

"Why not?" Wind asked.

"You seemed perfectly fine running around in one last night," Four pointed out.

"And you're a natural in a dress," Zelda added. "You move, dance, hell, even fight in some of my heaviest court gowns like there wasn't several dozen skirts worth of fabric in your way."

"That's different, I was acting as your body double - this is..." Warriors stared longingly at the dress. 

Then he thought of Uncle Jack, the proud captain and knight who made him the man he was today, and the words he hammered into him. 

Warriors tore his eyes away from the dress. "It isn't proper."

Then he felt a pair of arms encircle him. Warriors nearly jumped at the contact but Impa’s touch soothed him. 

"You would look beautiful in that dress." Impa said tenderly. "It looks as if it were made for you."

Warriors heart thumped but he couldn't let the warmth stay. "You deserve to be married to a proper man."

Impa drew him closer and deeper into the embrace. "I agreed to marry a man who was honest, brave and true." She cupped his face and tilted it upwards. "That dress doesn't change anything - it won't define who you are. What does matter is what you want for our special day." 

And Warriors was lost for words - no there were some words that were perfect. "I love you."

Impa smiled down at him and pressed a tender kiss to his lips, her Sheikah mask of neutrality completely falling away. It was short and brief but it filled him with the warmth and courage he needed. They parted and Warriors pressed his forehead against Impa's.

"Guess we'll just need to find out what you'll be wearing." He smiled.

"You've got to try it on!" Wind said excitedly. 

"It's a crime to pull out such a lovely thing from storage then not wear it." Sky said. 

Legend took the dress from Impa's hands. "And this is a court-styled dress, you're going to need like three extra people to help you get this on."

"Okay, out with the bride!" Wild said, pulling Impa away and into Zelda's waiting hands to be led out of the office. "Let's get this blushing groom dressed. No peeking!"

It was a whirlwind of movement and Warriors barely knew what was going on until he was encircled by the other heroes. 

"You're definitely going to need some help getting into this," Legend said. "I've dealt with enough of these things to know they're utter bastards to get on and off by yourself."

"Though if you want to put up a screen for more privacy then that's perfectly fine." Sky added.

"You guys...don't mind?" Warriors asked dumbly. They had to know what he was now or he had sorely underestimated their intelligence. 

"Don't mind what?" the other heroes chorused. There wasn’t a single hint of judgement or disgust in their bright shining eyes. 

Warriors smiled. "Nothing."

Thankfully, Impa had a paper screen in her office that was pulled open to section off part of the room. 

As Wild, Legend and Sky helped Warriors into the dress, he couldn't help but hum an old tune, " _ Bright red to be strong, flowing blue to be wise, a little green for extra courage, and something bright for Hylia's eyes _ ."

"That's a cute little rhyme." Sky said. 

Warriors smiled softly. "Our history is littered with war so there are a lot of wartime marriages. Yes, we mainly call upon Din but we need the blessing of all the goddesses for a successful marriage."

"Flowing blue - does that mean you're wearing that same old scarf to your wedding?" Wild asked. 

"Of course. Impa was the one who gave it to me y'know. There was never a precedent for blue in the hero's attire but she gave me the scarf along with the tunic and well..." Warriors ducked in head to hide his blush. "I couldn't imagine anything else to be my flowing blue."

"Aww," Sky cooed. "You were smitten from the start."

"She had my heart from the moment I met her." Warriors smiled.

"Well fuck." Legend said as they pulled the dress over the green underdress. "Green sleeves."

"Well yeah," Warriors said, slightly confused. "I can't imagine a wedding without a couple prayers to Farore. Besides, she's also our patron - it would be insulting not to have green."

Legend scowled. "I get that but green sleeves." He sighed at the blank looks of confusion. "Y'know? The asshole king who tried getting rid of the golden goddess, got married six times and beheaded two of his wives?"

"I don't think that happened in this timeline." Warriors said. 

"Okay fine but it's bad luck to have green sleeves at a wedding." Legend said, crossing his arms. 

"Do you have any ideas where else the green might go then?" Warriors said, "I don't want to be smited by our patron for not honouring her."

Legend scowled. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"So, just something bright and shiny now right?" Sky said.

"Normally those in the army would carry their weapons during the ceremony," Warriors said. "And I think my White Sword would work nicely..."

"But that doesn't mean you can't have something else!" Wild interjected, pulling out his slate. "This will fit you perfectly!"

He summoned a diamond circlet and placed it on Warriors' head. 

Legend hummed. "Might need a couple adjustments here and there, and then there are the green sleeves...but otherwise you're looking pretty decent captain."

"Don't listen to him, you look amazing!" Sky said. 

Warriors blushed and buried his hands in the fabric of the skirt, "Thanks guys." 

Then there was a quick snap as Wild took a picture. "Not for blackmail, promise!" he said quickly. 

"Hey! Are you finished yet?!" Wind called from behind the screen. 

"Well showtime pretty boy." Legend said. 

Warriors held his skirt up with practiced ease, though he had to be careful with the long draping sleeves, and stepped out of the screen. The other heroes all aahhed and cooed as Warriors couldn’t stop himself from blushing. 

"The dress fits you perfectly!" Hyrule said. 

Twilight nodded. "Honestly, it's unfair how good you look in everything."

"Impa's one lucky lady." Four said. 

"Okay, I don't get what Tetra was saying - dresses are awesome!" Wind said while snapping a picture for himself. 

"First you need to learn how to move in one," Time said. "You're absolutely stunning, captain." 

Warriors faced flushed red but he stood tall - they others said he looked amazing, he felt amazing.

"From the sounds of it I can come in now?" Impa called from the hallway.

"No!" all the other heroes shouted as they rushed to shut the door. 

"Hey!" Warriors yelled. 

Legend turned back at him. "It's bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other in their wedding clothes before the ceremony." But this time, all the others nodded in agreement. 

"But that's not a thing here!" Warriors retorted.

"Let them be," Impa called from the other side of the door. "Surprise me on our wedding day."

* * *

With all the ruckus around the wedding dress closed off for the night, the fabrics and clothes were packed away and everyone retired to their rooms to rest up for the future wedding planning. However, Warriors had grabbed Time, Four and Legend and led them deeper into the castle.

"You sure you know where your fucking going, captain?" Legend growled, eyeing the cobwebs and rotting wood. 

"Positive." Warriors said. "I've lived more of my life in this castle than out of it."

They went down a long spiraling stairway, the only light coming from Warriors' lantern and Proxi hovering by his side. 

Finally they came to the bottom of the stairwell which opened into a large musty forge. 

Four gave a low whistle. "Some fancy equipment you've got here."

"This is the royal forge, well - was." Warriors said. "There used to be a royal blacksmith several generations back but when the work got outsourced to the Castletown smith unions, it fell into disuse - until I found it."

"Until you fell into it." Proxi added. 

"You know how to smith?" Legend asked.

Warriors shrugged. "My parents were bakers. My uncle and grandfather were smiths. My other uncle went into politics and I had an uncle in the military. I got bounced around a lot between them as the only kid in the family so I picked up a little something here and there." 

He lit the torches around the forge, revealing his current works in progress. 

Legend smirked. "I see where this is going."

"Impa's really lucky to have you." Four said.

"I'm lucky that she'll have me." Warriors said, lifting up a half finished blade. "So how much experience do you have with Sheikah weapons?"


	6. "Forges are terrible places to sleep" by Four/“Storytime!” by Wind/“Don’t you start without me!” by Artemis/”Well they sound like utter assholes” by Legend

Warriors awoke drooling over the anvil in the underground forge with a pair of tongs dangerously close to his face. Time, Legend and Four had turned in at a more decent time and had expected Warriors to do the same. He said he would, just a little bit more here and there, but it seemed like he fell asleep while working - again. 

Proxi sat atop of the tongs, close enough that he could see her crossed arms and disapproving scowl. 

"You need to stop doing this Link - it's completely unhealthy."

Warriors sat up, wincing at the jolt of pain down his neck from his awkward position. "It's not all that bad."

Proxi gave an exasperated sigh. "If it's not in the forge, then it's in the kitchen or your study or the goddess damned training ground! You have a room of your own and you just leave it to gather dust!"

"It's also on the other side of the castle," Warriors shrugged. "It's more convenient to sleep elsewhere."

But there was the unspoken second reason between them. Three plain files that sat on the desk of his bedroom. Three files that he could never find the courage to open. 

"I swear, there needs to be more kidnapping threats just so that you'll sleep somewhere decent." Proxi flew up, lighting the way to the exit. "C'mon, better get back up there before everyone else figures out where you've been sleeping. Honestly, what will your future wife think if you never come to bed at night - especially with your reputation."

"Care I remind you that reputation is your fault. Besides, I don't think Impa spends much time in her bedroom either." 

"Then you two workaholics can keep each other in line - or just make things worse."

Warriors chuckled. Yeah, the marriage bed wasn't going to get much use between them. 

Marriage. The thought still brought a blush to his cheeks. He was getting married. Impa actually said yes. His wildest dreams had come true and his heart was still soaring sky high. 

"Link!" Proxi yelled, snapping Warriors out of his daze just before he stumbled over the anvil. "If you knock yourself out, I'm leaving you down here or worse yet, I'll bring Impa down here." 

"Don't you dare..." 

Proxi was too far away for him to see her face but he knew that the fairy was smirking. "I could and I would and I definitely will if you don't start marching back up there."

"Fine, fine. Just give me another minute."

Warriors turned to the workbench where the fruits of last night's labour laid. He started this project before the portals dragged him away to his current adventure and had planned to pass it off as a birthday gift or something. But now, he couldn’t see it as anything other than a wedding gift. He was grateful that the other smithing heroes were willing to help, condensing months of work into a single night and saved him from several missteps due to his inexperience. He carefully wrapped it in cloth and stowed it under the workbench. Though it was near impossible that Impa, or anyone else for the matter, would find their way down here without him knowing, he didn't want to take any chances for the surprise to be spoiled. 

Even with no natural light in the forge, Warriors body clock had woken him just before sunrise as always. He and Proxi stopped by the communal washroom to freshen up and wash off the soot and grime. No one would be any wiser about where they had been. 

Before Warriors could seek out anyone else, Impa found him.

"Captain." She greeted formally. 

On instinct, Warriors straightened up into a salute. Also on instinct, his face turned a bright red. 

"General." Proxi replied. 

"General." Warriors echoed softly.

Tenderness emerged through Impa's stern expression. "At ease," then her tone softened. "Did you sleep well? You never returned to your room last night."

"I was preoccupied." Warriors shrugged, trying his best not to fumble. "We really need to sort this out."

They may be engaged now and with the wedding in a couple days given the wartime turnover, but it didn't change the fact that Impa was his superior officer. Their duties to the crown and realm still took priority. The one saving grace about being the hero was that the anti-fraternization rules didn't apply to him. That was a mess of legality on top of the others they had to deal with. Warriors would wholeheartedly resign himself to eternal pinning rather than endanger his love's career.

"We need to resume and conclude the matters from yesterday." Impa said. 

That was only yesterday? It felt a lot longer than that. 

Impa gave an awkward cough. "Should we be able to end the meeting early, the delegation of other duties can be completed by the end of the day and we will be able to focus on the preparations."

A smile grew across Warriors lips. "Preparations."

Impa mirrored his grin, the widest he had ever seen with a light that danced in her eyes. "Yes, preparations. But first we need to locate the princess."

"She wasn't in her chambers?" Warriors asked, surprised but not worried. 

Impa's smile dropped back into her serious demeanor. "No, and there has been no signs of Sheik."

Odd but not completely uncommon. No need to panic - yet.

"Maybe the others gave a shot at actually kidnapping the princess." Warriors joked. 

Impa didn’t laugh. "Let's hope that to be so."

None of the servants had seen the princess all morning which was slightly concerning. She also wasn't at any of her regular haunts which was even more concerning. 

Before raising any alarms, they made their way to the visitors' wing in hopes that the other heroes might have seen her.

The sound of rambunctious voices penetrated through the common room doors. 

"There has to be a sand pouring ceremony!"

"Sand pouring? What about the unity candle?!"

"Will there be enough time to find a prayer book to entrust to them?"

"How many pots can we order? They need to be nice but also thin so they can break easily."

"Forget about all that! As pretty as that old dress is, there's no way it's going to last through the rupee dance!"

"Is there going to be a reception? How many other wedding guests are there?"

Warriors and Impa exchanged a quick glance. 

"Looks like the others have already started on preparations." Warriors smiled. 

Impa smiled back as she slowly opened the door with all the silence and grace of a Shiekah. The other heroes were gathered around the breakfast table with Artemis sitting at the head, amused by the wedding traditions from different eras being thrown around. 

They walked all the way up to the end of the table and none of them save Artemis had noticed them enter. 

Warriors smirked. "Am I the one getting married or is it you guys?"

The conversation came to a screeching halt as the overexcited heroes finally realised the presence of the bride and groom to be. 

"Oi Warriors, when's the ceremony?" Legend yelled from across the table. "We need to know how much time we have to work with."

"I don't remember hiring any of you as wedding planners." Warriors said. 

Legend scowled. "First off, fuck you. Secondly, we're trying to be helpful. You've got your captain bullshit, Impa has her general bullshit and you're probably here to drag the princess away for some other politics bullshit. You don't have the time for preparation bullshit so we'll handle it."

Despite Legend's crabby tone, Warriors was touched by the sentiment.

"The ceremony will be the day after tomorrow in the castle sanctum." Impa said. 

"WHAT?!" all the other heroes exclaimed.

"That's not enough time to prepare for anything!" Sky said panically. "I barely have a message for the white night let alone for the actual ceremony!"

"It will be a simple ceremony." Impa said. "Ring, cup and vows as well as the thrice-bound cord. It should only take the morning then the paperwork will be filed by noon."

"That's a business meeting, not a wedding!" Wild yelled. "Warriors! Knock some sense into your betrothed!"

Warriors sighed. He had always wanted a big wedding and would have loved to incorporate everyone's different traditions but sadly, what you wanted wasn't always the most practical. "Yes it's utilitarian, but that's all that we have time for. It's not worth diverting resources from the restoration efforts. And don't forget about the shadow and the portals."

That brought the heroes to a solemn silence. 

"Ask Cia and Lana for help." Artemis said suddenly.

Warriors' eyes widened and a chill ran down his spine. After what happened last time… "No."

Artemis eyed him solidly. "Ask Cia and Lana for help. That's the least they can do for you after a decade's worth of war."

"No." Warriors said stiffly. "You know them as well as I do. We are not asking them for favours."

"It's not a favour, it's a debt." she countered. 

Warriors took a deep breath to steady himself but he wavered as he exhaled. Artemis knew, she knew, but he also knew how she thought. Hurt feelings and lingering trauma didn't matter when there was something to gain.

His words refused to come out. Proxi flew closer, waiting for his signs so she could relay them to the others but unlike other times, they never came. 

Impa gripped his hand, grounding him before his mind could pull him in deeper. 

Impa glared at the princess with a sternness reserved only for the most foolhardy of recruits. "You want those  _ witches  _ to know that Link is getting married?"

"Cia I understand, but why Lana?" Time asked, head tilting with an innocence he still somehow preserved after all these years. "She's nice."

"Yes, Lana is  _ nice _ ." Proxi said spitefully. 

"Mind cluing in the rest of us who these people are?" Four said. 

"Bitches who belong in ditches by the sounds of it." Legend scowled.

"Cia and Lana are the two halves of the Guardian of Time." Impa explained, neither her voice or face betraying the anger that Warriors felt in her tightening grip. "The Guardian had an obsession with the hero's spirit that Ganondorf took advantage of which resulted in her being split into two beings. One was Cia, the instigator of the first war, and the other was Lana. She was our ally for a time but..." 

Impa paused when Warriors began attempting to sign. His free hand moved with half-formed words but then he clenched his fist. If he found his voice to speak to Impa after all these years, then he could find his voice to speak about this.

"Lana is nice." Warriors said slowly. "She fought alongside us. She helped end the first war. But she is nice. She only acted that way because - because..."

"Oh. That kind of 'nice'." Wild said as the others reached the same conclusion.

Warriors sighed and nodded. "They have the power to help. They would be more than willing to help but..."

He doesn't look back at Artemis. He knew she was going to ask anyway and buy them the time to have the wedding that he had always dreamed of. He knew, looking back, the knowledge that Cia and Lana will make that precious day possible won't sting as much as it does now. He might even look back and laugh at it - but that time isn't now. 

Artemis thought in the big picture - she looked to the future and wasn't weighed down by the little things of the present. It made her a good ruler but sometimes, it made her a crappy friend.   
Warriors hung his head and sighed. This was a battle that wasn’t worth fighting. “They’ll help.” He knew, from their ever present omnipotent gaze, Cia and Lana would have already come to their decision. 

"A decade's worth of war?" Time said, honing in on the princess's words to change the subject. "The war had been going on for that long?" 

Warriors straightened up, he knew war. He could talk about war and find some relief in that. "The first war started around the time I enlisted. That was the one Cia started and lasted three years. Then Calatia, the neighbouring kingdom to the north, saw that as a moment of weakness and invaded. That lasted another five years. Then several major noble houses declared themselves kings and tried to rebel - that thankfully was squashed in just under two years."

It was a lot of fighting. A lot of bloodshed... a lot of turncoats. A lot of executions. The proceeding wars made Ghirahim’s mind control in Skyloft look like nothing. At least those troops didn’t have a choice when they were forcibly turned against him.

"That's why you deserve an actual wedding and not just a quick ceremony." Artemis said. "A full three by three and one wedding. It's the least the crown can do for all of your service."

"Does the crown treasury even have enough to support that?" Warriors half-teased, half-asked. 

He had seen the royal accounts and he knew how much a wedding like the one Artemis was offering cost. It wouldn't empty the treasury but it would stretch them thin with the war reparations that still had to be paid for. They could have taken out a loan if they hadn't gone to war with the kingdom that hosted the biggest bank of the known world. 

"If money's the problem then I can pay for it." Wild offered. 

Legend scoffed. "With what rupees you forest gremlin?"

Wild smirked and held up his slate. "Five hundred raw ores of ruby, sapphire, topaz and diamond. Five hundred each."

Warriors blinked. That was...a lot of rupees. "Please don't crash the economy. We still need it running afterwards."

"Wait, so how old does that make you?" Hyrule asked, trying to juggle the numbers with his fingers. 

Four raised his brow. "Did you lie about your age to join the army?"

"I would have - if my uncle wasn't the recruitment officer." Warriors laughed. He could play the same game Time did and have them try to guess his age but just telling them would be all the more amusing. "I'm twenty-seven as of last autumn." 

"Twenty-seven?!" The other heroes exclaimed. Not even Time could maintain his composure. 

"You look exactly the same from the last time I saw you." Time gaped. "You all do."

Warriors smirked. "What can I say, we've got good genes in this era." 

"But that makes you so old." Wind whined. "How old does that make Impa then?"

Hyrule harshly elbowed him. "You don't just ask a lady that!"

"I'm thirty-four winters." Impa answered with an amused smile.

"You're both so old." Wind said.

"So you've been pinning for a decade?" Twilight said. 

"Fighting alongside each other as your love grows." Sky cooed. "That's so romantic."

Artemis choked back a laugh. "Oh, it was much longer. He's been crushing on Impa for as long as I've known him."

Warriors flushed as Impa turned to him. "We met before the war?" 

He buried his face in his scarf. "I used a different name back then but, yeah. My intentions weren't purely altruistic when I jumped to your aid."

"Story time?!" Wind perked up. 

And with ten sets of curious eyes on him, Warriors knew there was no way he was getting out of this. 

"Okay fine...here's the story of how I spent over half my life incapable of talking to one woman..."

With all the other heroes practically leaning over the table with their ears perked up, Artemis leaning back in her chair with an amused smirk and Impa eyeing him with curiosity, Warriors couldn't help the fluttering feeling in his stomach. Or maybe it was because he was hungry.

One embarrassingly loud growl later, it was definitely the latter. 

Impa frowned. "You haven't eaten yet." but her stony seriousness broke when her own stomach growled even louder. 

"Seems like you haven't either," Warriors said cheekily. 

And like a yawn during night shift, soon everyone else's stomachs were growling as well. 

Artemis laughed. "Seems like we've all been rather neglectful. I'll send for the kitchens to bring something up - this is one story that I definitely want to hear."

"But you were there for half of it!" Warriors exclaimed. 

"But you came into my service with that puppy crush on Impa. There's no way I'm missing out on where it all started now that you're finally talking and not burning brighter than Death Mountain. So, breakfast orders?"

"Croissants." Warriors said just as Impa said, "Blanched tomatoes."

They quickly turned to each other, both slightly tinged with red.

"Uh..." 

"Well."

So Warriors knew Impa's favourite food but she also knew his?

Wild raised a brow. "Blanched? You do know that's just boiled and peeled tomatoes, right?"

"Well neither of them count as breakfast." Legend said. 

Impa raised her head and squared her shoulders, a facade of confidence that did nothing to hide her blushing face. "I noticed how you would always trade your rations with the other soldiers for tomatoes - and how you cooked them."

"Ah...well, the croissants are the first and only thing you grab whenever I bake." Warriors said.

Impa blinked. "You...baked them?"

"Link Baker-Smith, it's literally in my name." And dammit, why was his reflex reaction always to burn up like he was surrounded by the fires of Din? "I know it's nothing worth putting on store shelves-"

"The ugliest pastries ever to grace Hylia's plane." Proxi piped. 

"Thank you Proxi." Warriors made a playful swat that the fairy easily dodged. "But it always brought up morale and you seemed to like them."

"Oh." It was such a gentle simple word but hearing it from Impa just made him smile wider. "How they looked never mattered - they always tasted amazing. I am just...surprised on how you procured them."

"How else did you think I got them? I snuck into the closest town we were camped at and seduced the local baker for their misshapen goods?"

At Impa's silence, Warriors groaned and turned to Proxi. "See where this whole 'ladies man' act has gotten me?!"

Proxi fluttered just out of Warriors' grasp in case he made a more serious swipe. "In my defence, it was a joke that you were desperate enough to take seriously!"

As Artemis took everyone else's breakfast orders, Impa and Warriors finally took a seat at the table while Proxi settled herself on his shoulder. 

"So you know how to cook." Four said.

"I know how to bake and boil." Warriors corrected. "Anything else might as well be charred."

Wild groaned, remembering the brief time it was only the two of them travelling together. "He set soup on fire - goddess-damned soup! Do you know how long I spent scrubbing that dubious muck out of my pot?!"

"Your baking honestly tastes nice." Impa said. "Maybe with a bit more practise and mentoring, you can have the appearance match." 

Warriors shrugged. "Maybe but my parents didn't see it worth the effort when my cousin was better and more eager to take over the bakery. It was one of the many reasons they tried marrying me off to the tailor's son."

"Oooh! The story begins!" Hyrule said. 

Artemis quickly slammed the door in the face of the servant she had called and slid into the seat opposite Warriors with Sheikah speed and grace.

Impa shot her a disapproving look. "You weren't taught those techniques for them to be used in such a frivolous manner."

Artemis grinned cheekily. "As if you've never done the same - and pipe down, don't you want to hear when you first captured the heart of your husband to be?"

And once again, all eyes were back on Warriors. 

He adjusted his scarf, all his blushing had left an unfortunately familiar pool of sweat around his neck. "Might as well start from the beginning. I come from a decently sized town in the south, a central hub for the surrounding villages and pretty close to the local lord's manor but it was still the sort of place where everyone knew everyone since they were in diapers."

"Huh. Always pegged you as a Castletown brat." Twilight said. 

Warriors laughed. "Might as well be. I spent most of my life in Castletown anyway." Castletown and the battlefield, he didn't add.

"So how did a baker's child engaged to a tailor's son from a provincial town end up in the capital?" Four asked. "And you said you were somehow a smith too."

"My father was the youngest of four sons of the local blacksmith and married the baker's middle daughter. His older brother was set to inherit the forge while my mother's older sister was to inherit the bakery so neither of them had much in terms of legacy or inheritance. So with my baking skills not up to scratch and smithing not being 'proper work for a young lady', they sent me off apprentice under the local seamstress who only agreed to it if I was engaged to her son,” then he mumbled under his breath, “...and the cuccos probably had something to do with it."

"Cuccos? You were avoiding them like the plague at the ranch." Sky said.

"Because those birds are legitimate weapons of warfare and they should be feared - but when I was younger, I was a bit of a cucco whisperer. My grandma kept a flock behind the bakery and I had a nasty habit of setting them on whoever I didn't like, even my own cousins." Warriors chuckled at the memory and the manic glee his younger self had in filling his cousin's room with those demon birds after she tattled on him 'trying to trick the other kids she was a boy again'. "They thought honest lady-like work and a secured marriage would mellow me out - but it didn't. Madame Mordane would have kicked me out if my uncle hadn't whisked me away. Jon was a good kid though - a couple years older than me and a complete pansy at times but he had a good heart. I wouldn't have minded marrying him but we would've been close friends rather than actual spouses." Jon had called him the brother he never had and in gratitude, his younger self tried setting up with that cute farmer boy. Jon was the only person from his hometown that Warriors had kept in contact with - until that wasn't an option anymore. 

Three plain folders on his bedroom desk. Three files he still hadn't found the courage to open.

"So what changed?" Time asked.

"Your uncle right?" Wild said. "The blacksmith one? Did he finally take you in as an apprentice?"

"Oh no, Uncle Jasper remained firm in his ways until he died. It was my father's second oldest brother, my Uncle Jethro, who took me out of that town." Warriors clarified. "Uncle Jethro was a man of few words but he had a great mind and even greater ambitions. He worked his way up into our lord's service as a steward and impressed a visiting Castletown noble that he insisted that he joined his household services. He brought me along with him to serve as a lady-in-waiting and possibly to catch the eye of some young lord. I had a pretty face back then too."

"So your uncle was planning to sell you off to some lording to further his career?" Twilight scowled. 

Impa threw Warriors a concerned look while Artemis dipped her head in shame. 

Warriors gave a melancholic smile. "Yes. If there was one thing I liked about Uncle Jethro, it was his honesty. He was upfront about everything - which made how well he did in politics surprising. He was aware of what I was and didn't turn an ignorant eye like everyone else. He didn't approve of it but that didn't stop him from looking out for me. Yes, he planned to use me to gain extra influence and power but he also gave me an opportunity that I never would have had otherwise - he opened the door to the outside world. If it weren't for his scheming, I wouldn't be here today." There was a good chance he wouldn't even be alive today had he stayed in his hometown.

"So will we have to deal with him at the wedding?" Wind asked. "Because if you still have issues with him, I can always kick him in the shins."

"No, he-" Warriors choked. He may have never opened those files but he already knew what was in them. He never went to any funerals, he didn't have the chance to. As long as they remained close, he could continue with his foolish ignorance. "He won't be able to make it."

"So when's the part Impa sweeps you off your feet?" Legend said. "All we've gotten so far is your boring backstory."

"I'm getting there - be patient. So I was a pretty shitty lady in waiting and the lord's daughter absolutely hated my guts. So mini me, in all my vast wisdom, decided to run away - and then I got immediately kidnapped. Turns out, with long hair and a fancy dress, I bear a striking resemblance to the princess and some bandits thought they could get some good ransom money. They didn't have the chance to even send a ransom letter though. If there's one thing the Sheikah have, it’s efficiency, and in a matter of hours, a certain someone had come to my rescue."

Impa's eyes widened. "Wait - you were that little girl?!"

Warriors smirked. "Yup."

"But - but," Impa spluttered in a rare loss of composure. "That would have made you twelve. I was nineteen."

Warriors laughed. "It wasn't like I asked you to marry me then and you didn't do anything inappropriate - Jon and I had the same age gap and nothing would have happened until I came of age. Besides, I was entitled to having a little crush on the dashing Sheikah warrior who had saved me from those evil bandits and called me prettier than the princess."

"After you were on the brink of tears because I had scolded you thinking you were the princess having escaped your guard!"

"Still had my little heart smitten."

"My era doesn't have many wedding traditions but there's one where the bride is 'kidnapped' before the ceremony and has to be 'rescued' by the groom," Hyrule chuckled. "Maybe you can finally return the favour."

"Staged or not, I think we've had enough kidnappings." Impa said, face glowing with a rare blush.

Warriors grinned. "Besides, it would be impossible for any of you to get the drop on her."

"Then we'll have to settle for the groom instead." Hyrule said. “You have tons of experience, right?”

"No. More. Kidnappings. Please." Impa said.

"So Impa rescued you as a kid then you spent the next fifteen years pinning from afar?" Four asked. 

Warriors coughed. "Well, things might have turned out differently if that had been the last time I saw her until I enlisted in the army - but little me had started plotting a stupidly impulsive plan that I still can't believe worked."

"What did you do?" Wild asked. "Tried to become a Sheikah?"

"I broke into Hyrule Castle and pretended to be the princess." 

"WHAT?!" the other heroes exclaimed.

"How were you not caught?" Twilight said.

"How shitty was the palace security?" Legend said.

Warriors laughed at the memory. "It was a stupid plan but my logic went that if I wanted to see Sheikah and Sheikah served the royal family, then I had to work for the royal family. I was caught eventually but before the queen decided on a punishment, Uncle Jethro quickly brought up how useful it was to have body-double for the princess and that's how I came into royal service and was able to pine from a closer distance."

"Even when you were pretending to be me, you still were a blushing mess around Impa." Artemis laughed. "I had to keep coming up with reasons why 'I' had been so red and said I was mad about some stupid thing."

"That's what you told her?!" Warriors exclaimed then he turned to Impa. "Okay, now I get why you thought I hated you."

Impa sighed. "I might have realised your feelings sooner if I had known you were also Linkle."

"Wait,  _ Linkle _ ?" Wild spluttered.

Warriors shrugged. "It was confusing to have two little kids who looked nearly identical and were also both named Zelda so we used nicknames back then. Zelda went by Artemis and because they wouldn't let me use Link, I called myself Linkle." Then he smirked. "Jokes on them, I officially got my name changed to Link a couple years later." 

"Your parents named you Zelda." Hyrule gaped.

"It's a popular name. Zelda for girls, Link for boys. My cousin was named Zelda too but my family refused to use nicknames." Warriors turned to Impa again. "I thought you knew I had been Linkle, especially after I took up my body double duties again. I had that on my enlistment forms."

Impa shrugged. "It would have been disrespectful to pry into your pre-transition life when there was no need to. There were no flags on your file and you also had a personal endorsement from Captain Jack. Most soldiers I've worked with preferred to keep their past private so you had every right to the same benefit."

Warriors stared at her for a moment. "I love you." he blurted out. 

"That's basic decency and respect." Impa said, her blush returning. 

"It's something not everyone is given. You're amazing for giving it so freely."

Warriors looked down the table. Before coming to his era, he had never disclosed anything about this to the other heroes and yet here they all were with such simple openness and acceptance that was borderline surreal. Hylia had truly blessed him with the family he had found. 

"Heh. At least we won't have to weasel the story out of you for the pantomime." Four said.

"Pantomime?" Warriors asked. 

"A pre-wedding tradition from my era." Four explained. "When all the wedding guests have gathered, generally on the day before the wedding, the families of the bride and groom reenact how the couple met in the most embarrassing of a play as possible."

Sky gasped excitedly. "That overlaps perfectly with white night! It's the night before the ceremony where all the guests gather for dinner and share all their stories about the couple to be - the more embarrassing the better!"

"Dear goddesses, you lot have taken over wedding planning." Warriors groaned but there was no hiding his growing smile. 

Legend smirked. "Deal with it pretty boy."

Servants soon came into the room bearing not only croissants and blanched tomatoes, but also a wide selection of fresh fruit, baked bread and cold slices of meat. Wedding discussions were put on hold until everyone had full stomachs. 

As expected, Warriors felt curious eyes on him as he began to slice into his breakfast. 

"Are those really vegetables?" Sky asked, unnerved by the squelching sound as Warriors' knife cut through the tender fruit flesh.

"Looks more like monster guts to me." Wind said.

Warriors grinned as he shoved half a tomato into his mouth, letting the juices stream messily down his jaw. A nice mealy outside but still firm and barely cooked on the inside, filling his mouth with that lovely fresh tomato taste. Some of the other heroes looked away in poorly hidden disgust while Impa shook her head in amusement. 

"And you wonder why half the rumour mill concerns you." she said. 

Warriors delicately dabbed away the juices with a napkin as he was taught during the many lessons he had shared with Artemis. "It's all in good fun. Better have those greenhorns make wild claims about my eating habits than have their idle hands dig elsewhere. Besides, it's always amusing to see what each new batch comes up with."

"My favourite still has to be when they thought you were harvesting and eating the hearts of all the monsters you've slain." Artemis chuckled. 

Warriors grimaced. "I had to do that the last time I got caught in a siege. Word of advice, you're better off eating dirt than trying to make a monster stew."

"So why do you like tomatoes that way?" Wild asked. "They're basically raw so why go through the trouble of boiling and peeling them?"

"It's more of the fun of it than anything." Warriors said. "It's one of my earliest memories."

"Was that how your mother prepared them or something?" Twilight asked. 

Warriors smirked. "Nope. It was me being an utter lil' shit. A travelling monk once came to my hometown when I was about five or six. Even then I knew who I was and was a lot more vocal about it. My parents brought me to the monk and he claimed I was cursed and demon-possessed. I had to sit through so many long prayers and boring 'exorcisms' that I decided to have a little payback. In the middle of the night, I snuck into the monk's room and started loudly eating tomatoes - blanching them made eating more messy so after a night of hearing loud chewing, he would wake up to a mess of red juices and squishy bits at the foot of his bed. Took about three nights but I was able to scare him off."

"Did your parents ever find out?"

"Eventually but I spent the following weeks acting like a proper little lady so that was enough for them to let it slide."

Legend hummed. "That reminds me, is any of your family going to be at the wedding?"

Warriors paused mid-bite and gently placed his utensils down. Three files that he still didn't have the courage to open. "No." he said evenly but kept his eyes trained on his plate. 

Legend crossed his arms and scowled. "What? Are they that fucking bigoted that they won't talk to their son because he was never their daughter?"

"My hometown was several weeks away even by horseback and there still would have been the matter of getting through Faron Woods." Distance was always a good excuse to use. He had tried reaching out to them with Uncle Jack's help but in the midst of war, he doubted his letters, or any other more urgent correspondence, would have made it in time.

"A southern town on the other side of Faron Woods..." Time muttered. "Oh."

Warriors raised his head and gave a forced smile. He remembered that night on the castle walls, watching a great blaze on the horizon with Young Link by his side. They got the information too late and there was no speedy way to get to them in time. Their job wasn't to save everyone, he remembered saying through a blur of unshed tears, but they could save those they could. 

Those files remained closed and he never had the time to make the long journey, so he remained in his blissful ignorance. That fire could have been part of the woods or a different village. The flames were south-west or south east of the castle, not directly south. He could hold onto the vain hope that his hometown was still isolated and untouched. 

Legend thankfully, knew when to drop a topic. "Looks like we aren't going to have a hand-off then."

"Isn't that traditionally with the bride's family?" Four asked.

"Hand-offs in my era have either the bride or groom thrown off the edge off the island to be caught by the other on their loftwing." Sky said cheerfully. "Don't worry, they practised first and it's always the better flyer. Maybe instead, we can toss one of you off the castle wall and the other can do the catching on horseback. Horses are basically surface loftwings, right?"

"No tossing. No kidnapping." Impa said firmly. 

"Not even fake poisoning?" Hyrule obviously meant that as a joke but one stern glare from Impa had him squeaking, "Sorry."

"So that's like half of my wedding traditions down the drain." Legend said. "Also, as soon as you're done with that military crap or whatever, the bride's coming with me to get the dress sorted. If pretty boy's going to be wearing a dress with material that thin, then we've got to make sure that the other one is going to survive the rupee dance."

"Rupee dance? Don't think I've heard of that one before," Warriors said, and from the blank looks from the other heroes, none of them seemed to have heard of it either. 

"Would be surprised if you had - it's a Lorulean tradition." Legend explained. "During the couple's first dance at the reception, the wedding guests can pin rupees, and no I don't know how they fucking manage that either, or IOU notes to the bride's dress as a sort of financial blessing to the new couple. However, if the guests who gave notes fail to pay up, then the newlyweds have every right to chase them down and demand what was promised."

"I do not want to spend our honeymoon debt collecting." Warriors said.

Legend shrugged. "Ravio said that it was all in good fun and that it's more of an incentive to get the couple to visit people after the wedding. It's mostly parents and old aunts and uncles who complain that the kids forget about them completely once they get married."

"It's unlikely that we'll have that many guests." Impa said. "While I do have some relatives serving at the castle, it's too short of a notice to have anyone from Kakariko to make it on time."

"Then push the date back." Legend scowled. "Give us some more time to work with rather than two fucking days! Even until the end of the week it will work!"

Artemis hummed. "That would line up perfectly with the current end of war festival we have planned."

Both Impa and Warriors swiftly turned to the princess. They had heard absolutely  _ nothing  _ about this. 

"After nearly a decade of war, the people deserve something to lighten the mood." Artemis explained before anyone else could say a thing. "It was a little project of mine, nothing too big...but if we have a willing sponsor and it lines up with the wedding of the hero, we can do something truly grand."

Warriors turned to Wild. "Run before she completely drains you of your rupees."

"It's not like I was going to do much with them anyway." Wild turned to the princess with a feral grin. "I would happily offer my financial support for this endeavour." 

Warriors groaned. "This is becoming less like a wedding and more like state propaganda."

"You're the hero -  _ everything  _ you do is going to be propaganda in one way or another." Artemis said. 

"Well that will have to wait." Impa said. "We still have a meeting to conclude as well as a full debriefing regarding this... current situation." She looked back at the multiple heroes of courage seated around the table. 

Artemis nodded seriously. "It should be quick - that is if Link doesn't spend the entire time mooning over his lovely wife to be."

"I'm not that bad!" Warriors protested. 

Artemis, Proxi and even Impa shot him a look. 

Warriors ducked his head and blushed. "I can stay focused. I've been in the army for nearly ten years - I know how to do my job."

"So do we have to wait until you finish up or is there anything we can start planning now?" Legend, who might well be the head wedding planner now, asked.

"We have a lot of preparations to make and not a lot of time to do it so you might as well start now - and I have the perfect thing to act as your guide." Artemis reached under the table and pulled out -

"ARTY DON'T YOU DARE GIVE THAT TO HIM!" Warriors yelled, lunging over the table and completely soiling his tunic with food. 

But with all the swiftness of a Sheikah, Artemis leapt up and back-flipped to land precariously at the back of her chair, holding a leather-bound notebook high above her head.

"Why not Lin-Lin?" Artemis teased. "You've been preparing this for years and now's the time for it to finally come to use!"

"But that doesn't mean I want any of them to read it!"

Warriors made another dive across the table and slammed head first into the chair as Artemis jumped and threw the notebook at Legend.

However, Impa intercepted the notebook and stopped the embarrassing game of keep-away before it began.

Warriors was strewn on the floor, tunic covered in food scraps and scarf half draped over his head. "Please don't read it." he said pathetically.

Thankfully, Impa didn't as much glance at the book in her hand. "What is this?" 

"Something very personal." Warriors said meekly as he peeled himself off the floor. 

"That's Link's dream wedding." Artemis said smugly. "A full three by three and one ceremony, a lavish reception and a couple extra things that you might be interested in looking at." 

There was a brief flash of temptation across Impa's face but she didn't open the book. Instead she tossed it back to Warriors who then quickly shoved it in his tunic. 

Artemis pouted. "Oh boo, after all the effort you put into making it, you're not even going to use it?" 

"I am." Warriors huffed. "But the only one reading it is me. These are personal and private."

"Aww, but I'm sure Impa would love to see those drawings of -"

"Personal and private!" Warriors screeched to cut her off. The last thing he needed was for Impa to see all of his lovesick doodles. 

He turned to Time and - oh no. He knew that shit-eating smirk. 

"Considering it pertains to the wedding, I think it would be fair for at least Impa to see what's in there." Time said it so evenly but Warriors knew he was being a gigantic brat. 

"Stop teasing him - that's only going to waste what little time we have." Twilight said. 

If he wasn't on the other side of the room, Warriors would have hugged him. "Thank you Twilight. You're my new favourite."

"What's a three by three and one ceremony?" Four asked. "You've mentioned it several times but I still have no clue what it is."

"It's an elaboration of the ring, cup and vows," Impa explained. "Mostly for noble and royal weddings but sometimes a village comes together to host a three by three and one for several couples at once."

Four stared at her blankly. "Yeah...still have no clue what that is."

Warriors straightened up, trying to dust off at least some of the scraps from his tunic. "The basic ceremony has the couple exchange three emblems that refer to the golden goddesses: a ring for Din, a cup for Nayru and vows for Farore, then the celebrant will beseech a blessing from Hylia and the couple will kiss. The three by three expands on that by having three traditions lead up to each exchange with each segment being hosted by two attendants, close friends or family that the bride and groom believe exemplify each of the goddess qualities. The celebrant is also given more time to deliver a message for the new couple."

"Hey! So that fits perfectly if we want to add some of our wedding traditions!" Wind said. 

"Oh, attendants...will you be mine for Wisdom, princess?" Impa asked uncharacteristically quickly.

"I would be honoured." Artemis said, though caught a little off guard. She then turned to Warriors. "Do you still have anyone in mind for your attendants?"

After a moment of thought, Warriors said, "Wild for Power, Legend for Wisdom and Hyrule for Courage."

Hyrule quirked a brow. "Thanks but...don't you have anyone in mind? This is your era after all."

In his notebook, Warriors had written Uncle Jack for Power, Uncle Jethro for Wisdom and Jon for Courage - but..."None of them would be able to make it." 

"Just out of curiosity, why those three and not the rest of us?" Four asked.

"Attendants need to be at least seventeen so you and Wind aren't old enough. Sky's the celebrant so he can't be an attendant and we need Time and Twilight for the thrice bound cord so they can't be attendants either."

"Thrice bound cord? Another tradition?"

Warriors nodded. "It's..." then he turned to Time and Twilight, both having a hint of what it was and had respectively smiled and gone completely red. "Y'know what. Wait and see for the day."

"We're going to be part of the wedding!" Wild cheered, throwing an arm over Hyrule. 

"Making us both plan and participate, that's working double time." Legend grumbled with a slight smile. "I'm absolutely honoured to be a part of it."

"But then what can we do?" Wind pouted. 

Four patted him on the back. "We can always host white night - and bring up all the embarrassing stories that we can think of."

Wind grinned. "Hell yeah!"

Warriors smiled. His newfound family was all going to be a part of this special day - one that he would never forget.


	7. "They're stupid with love," by Legend/"I don't get it," by Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! This chapter has been a pain to edit but it has one of my favourite passages in it.  
> CW: misgendering

Five days was better than two days but that was still a ridiculously short time to organise a wedding - especially considering that it would have to work with and around a festival. With the bride and groom spirited away to deal with more mundane matters such as preventing another war and preventing the unravelling of the very fabric of space and time due to another set of interdimensional adventures, the remaining heroes were left in charge with wedding planning. 

Legend may have kept head out of politics but he sure as fuck knew weddings took both time and money. They didn't have much time so they had to make sure they had enough money to fund this whole endeavor. If there was one thing that made people work faster, it was a good paycheck at the finish line.

Legend grabbed Wild by the hood, possibly choking him in the process but he didn't really care because they didn't have any fucking time to waste, but was stopped at the door by Time. 

"Move out of the way, old man." Legend said, releasing his grip on Wild's hood.

"Air!" Wild gasped. "What the fuck was that for Legend?"

But Legend was more preoccupied with trying to get several kilos of grumpy geezer out of his way.

However Time stood firm. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Into town. We need a way to fund the wedding and you can't exactly pay for services with fucking rocks."

Time quirked him brow in that infuriatingly know-it-all way. "You really think I'm going to let two of our 'kidnappers' roam free?"

"But that's the reason we're even having a wedding in the first place!" Wild exclaimed. 

"An altruistic motive - but still illegal." Time retorted.

"Well who else are you going to send?" Legend growled. "No one else is knows how to work that glorified slab of rock and your going to need someone who knows how to actually fucking barter." He crossed his arms and smirked. "So what's it going to be, old man?"

Time sighed. "Fine."

"Can I come too?" Hyrule asked. 

"Me too!" Wind yelled. 

"No." Time said firmly. "Regardless of the results, all of you will have to face consequences for your actions. You three will be researching in the library with Twilight."

"Wait, me too?! I've washed my hands of this!" Four said. 

"You still were an active and willing participant thus therefore guilty as well."

"Too bad smithy." Legend grinned. 

"Oh fuck you." Four grumbled. 

"No fuck you, don't think you can escape this just because you claim you didn't want to be a part of it. I sure as fuck wasn't the one who blasted the general against a wall."

"That doesn't mean you two are free completely free either." Time said. "Consider this a suspended sentence."

"Pulling out all the technical terms, old man? Since when were you a judge?"

Time dipped his head with a dark toothy grin. "You're mistaken, I was once the executioner."

Legend gulped. Out of all Time's claims, that was one he didn't want to challenge.

"Sky!" Time yelled, startling said hero out of his chair. "Go with them and please keep them in line. I trust you to be the responsible one."

"What?!" Sky spluttered. "But I have a message to prepare! Verses to research! I'm the one who has to run this ceremony and I have no idea what I'm doing! Can't Twilight go instead?"

"Do you really think Wild listens to Twilight anymore? Or that Legend will you what he says?"

"Hey!" Twilight protested but was otherwise unheard. 

Sky sighed. "Fine. Just find some good books for me in the library please. Warriors entrusted me with this sacred duty and no way am I letting him down."

* * *

Legend thought things would be easier once they were out of the castle and the old man wasn't breathing down their necks but Wild proved him fucking wrong. 

He grabbed the idiot by the hood again and dragged him away from the poor confused farmer that he was trying to solicit. 

"What do you think a farmer was going to do with a fucking lump of raw diamond?" Legend growled.

"Well in my era, anyone who's selling stuff is also willing to buy anything." Wild said defensively.

"And you really think they would have the money to pay a fucking decent price? You got precious stones, you go to a fucking jeweler or a Goron to get the best possible price - not just any dumbfuck on the streets. You'd be lucky to get three hundred rupees out of that guy."

"I normally get five hundred."

Legend pressed his hands against his face and silently screamed. Thank goddesses, Ravio wasn't here or else Wild would find himself with an enraged merchant on his tail.

"Hey, where's Sky?" Wild asked. 

"Sky? I thought he ran off without you."

"Sky, running? I'm pretty sure I left him with you."

Fuck, they lost Sky.

Thankfully, the goddesses were not the demanding bitches they normally were and feeling merciful today. Sky hadn't moved far from the place they had abandoned them but he was awkwardly trying to pull his sailcloth away from a very handsy soldier.

"This is absolutely exquisite." the soldier said. "It's a perfect replica of the sailcloths from the Era of the Sky - and this design, could it be the same one worn by that era's hero? Where did you get this? What is it made of? Wool? Cotton? Silk?"

"Uh...it was a gift." Sky locked eyes with Legend from afar, his entire expression screaming 'help!'. 

Legend grabbed the soldier by the shoulder and yanked him away. "Oi, buddy. My pal's already taken. Keep your hands to yourself."

The soldier turned around and huffed. "I am not that sort of man. I am respectable and proper."

"Well you could've had me mistaken with how you were all over him."

Unlike the others they had encountered in this era, his left half of his tunic was completely blue with the royal crest on the right side below a green swirling emblem Legend had seen on many but not all of the cannon fodder. Half his face was covered by a messy mop of blond hair while the other half was taken up by a pair of comically large glasses. Honestly, the guy looked better suited for a library than a battlefield. 

Behind the glasses, the soldier's eyes widened. "Oh? Are you dressed in the attire of the Hero of Legend? You must tell me where you got that dyed, their work is fantastic." Then his eyes fell on Wild. "And you sir! Is that not the emblem used for the hero in the archives? You've worked it amazingly well into the design of your tunic."

Legend sighed. Definitely the bookworm type. "Who the fuck are you?" he asked before the soldier could get further sidetracked.

The soldier puffed his chest out and adjusted his glasses. "I am Lord-Major Link Armitale, scholar of heroic history and a dear friend of the hero of our time."

Legend severely doubted Warriors even knew this Armitale guy existed. They probably passed each other in the battlefield once and that was enough for this idiot to get an overly inflated ego. 

"Well nice meeting you Link. I'm Link, that's Link and the guy you were bothering is also Link." Legend said. "And now these Links are leaving."

But before he could turn away, the soldier grabbed his sleeve. "Wait! I've been extremely discourteous to you and your friends and you obviously look unfamiliar with the city. If not as an apology then from one hero enthusiast to another, let me do something to assist you."

Legend shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to get some help from a local, no matter how annoying he had been. "We're a little short on cash and were looking for somewhere to sell some raw ore."

"What kind?" Armitale asked. 

"Five hundred ruby, sapphire, topaz and diamond." Wild said. 

"Five hundred in total?" Armitale squeaked. 

Wild gave a feral grin. "Five hundred each."

"H-How?"

"Bombs."

To his credit, Armitale didn't immediately bolt and report them to the nearest authorities for suspicious criminal activity. "W-well. That is a lot." Then he coughed and straightened up. "You were probably looking for the jeweler's district but that's on the other side of the city and I doubt anyone reputable would still be open by the time you get there. If you're really desperate for rupees now though, I could buy some off you then send a gem wholesaler to your place of residence sometime tomorrow or the day after."

"That sounds perfect!" Wild said.

"Excellent! So where are you currently staying?"

Legend was surprised with how smoothly this was all going - almost too smoothly. 

"Hyrule Castle." Sky said. 

And like a trap had been sprung, Armitale's entire expression changed. "...Hyrule Castle?"

"Yes?" Sky said uneasily, his hands twitching for his sword. 

"I think I can do you a better deal." Armitale said quickly, as if the words weren't coming out of his mouth fast enough. "Five hundred each of ruby, sapphire, topaz and diamond, yes? I can have a thousand rupees for each ore sent to Hyrule Castle the day after tomorrow and you can give the gems to my men then."

"A thousand per...that's a lot." Wild said slack jawed.

But Armitale gave a dismissive wave as he began scouring his bag for something. Apparently, bottomless bags were commonplace in this era. "I come from a family of ancient and high nobility. It's just a drop in the bucket."

"What's in it for you?" Legend asked, arms crossed and ready for a ridiculous catch.

"Here it is!" And Armitale pulled a rather sad bouquet of orange and blue flowers out. "All I have is a simple and honest request: please deliver this to Linkle at the castle. There's only one and I've received word that she's finally returned." 

Legend's blood ran cold. So this asshole actually did know Warriors and a bit more intimately than he expected. 

Armitale held the bouquet out in lovesick desperation. Both Sky and Wild turned to Legend, leaving the final decision ultimately up to him. Fuck. Were they really going to let one of Warriors' suitors pay for his wedding to another person? That was a whole other level of cruel and insulting. But they needed the money and they didn't have much time...

Legend sighed and took the bouquet. "We'll take it to the castle. Can't say we've met a Linkle there though."

"Thank you! She'll be there! I'm certain!" Legend couldn't help the chill that ran down his spine at the asshole's misgendering. "And no need to tell her who it's from. She'll know immediately!"

They returned to the Castle sooner than expected with a deal that might not have been worth its weight in rupees.

"He reminds me of Bozai." Wild muttered. "And that guy was an utter sleazebag."

"What are we going to tell Warriors?" Sky asked. 

"Nothing." Legend said, tossing the bouquet into the castle gardens. "He doesn't need the thought of asshole exes stressing him out. It's not like we're going to see him again anyway." And he was going to make sure of that.

* * *

They had to work fast and work smart. That was why instead of enjoying a royally soft bed for the night, Legend was hunched over a spinning wheel in a cramp room by candle light making mock-ups of the wedding clothes. He was nowhere near a qualified tailor but he had picked up a thing or two from Madame Conture and the rest of the fashion obsessed citizens of Hytopia to do a little something that would make the tailor's job a lifetime easier. 

The sewing room was tiny and cramp with barely enough room to fit three people. It placed less strain on the solitary candle that lit the room but surrounded by all wood and cotton, one wrong move could send the entire place ablaze. It was quiet though, peaceful, lulling him into the steady work pace- 

"Hero of Legend?"

"Fuck!" Legend jolted in surprise, pricking his finger on the spindle and nearly knocking over his candle. Turning around, he barely made out Impa's form standing behind him in the dim light. "How did you fucking sneak up on me?"

He didn't need to see her face to know that she was smirking. "Ancient Sheikah techniques."

Sheikah. They didn't exist in his era. Yes, there was Old Impa and her niece with their pale hair and red eyes but never once did they refer to themselves as Sheikah - but he had seen that eye before. Twice. The Sorceress Veran, a servant to the demon king, and the Wizard Agahnim...an alter ego to Ganon himself. But it was also the symbol on Wild's slate, one of Time's masks, and proudly worn by both Impa and Sheik. Legend trusted Warriors had better taste that to marry himself off to an evil wizard in disguise. It still took all of his self control not to shoot right in the centre of that symbol as his instincts demanded. 

Legend spun around on his chair. "So, any preferences for your style of dress?"

"Whatever you think is suitable." Impa - fuck that made three Impas he knew. Thinking of her as Sheikah would be fucking rude considering that was the name of her tribe, plus the local princess was running around calling herself Sheik. She was in the army too, right? A general or something - General will have to do. 

General leaned against the wall, guarded yet nonchalant. Stern, serious and a damn good fighter - all good qualities for a warrior but not the sort of qualities he had expected Warriors to fall in love with. Come to think of it, had he even seen her smile at all - especially around her future husband? 

"Well I’m not going to be the one wearing it - and from personal experience, you don’t want to be stuck in an uncomfortable-as-fuck dress all day." Legend kept his eyes trained on her, watching for the slightest indication of emotion, of fucking anything. 

After a prolonged period of silence, her gaze broke away from his, the slightest shift so that she was looking slightly behind him rather than actually at him. Bingo. 

"It's natural to be nervous."

"I am not nervous." General said immediately, defensively. The fucking liar. 

Legend scoffed and leaned his chin against the back of his chair. "Of course not, you're just getting married, one of the most important milestones of a lifetime, to one of the influential figures in the kingdom in less than a week after he confessed his love and proposed to you  _ yesterday _ ."

Legend smirked as those red eyes glared at him. 

Then she conceded with a sigh. "...fine. I'm nervous."

"Do you even love him?" That was a completely tackless question but Legend needed to know. Warriors was as much made of charisma and charm as he was concentrated idiocy. He could be fucking hard to say no to when all three were dialed up to the max. Marriage was a precious thing. The goddesses above and below damn him to the Dark World if he stood by and let one happen out of obligation rather than love. 

Nothing in General's posture betrayed her but with her eyes illuminated by the flickering candlelight, her soul laid bare before him. She didn't respond straight away and that was all the confirmation that he needed. 

Legend sighed. "You could have said no. Hero of your era or not, you have no obligation to him. He would have understood. I'm sure even now he'll understand if you want to call off the wedding now."

A small sad smile snuck onto her face. "After seeing how excited he is? After how excited you all are? That would just disappoint him."

"But it will utterly destroy him if he finds out that you only agreed under pressure.” Legend countered. “You could always give it some more time."

"But time is something we do not have.” General leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, finally breaking her composure. “You are the most experienced of all the heroes, you know what it's like to live knowing that the next day is not guaranteed. We can't take chances like that, not in the precarious time that we live in. And..." The slightest faintest blush tinged her cheeks. "You didn't hear how he proposed."

Legend gave a short chuckle. "Doubt he could have done much concussed in a cave."

"That was all he needed." General didn't smile but he heard the warmth that coated her words. There was something there, some sort of emotion or affection. 

"Do you love him?" He asked again. 

"What is love to you, Hero of Legend?"

He wasn't expecting for his question to be thrown right back at him. Red eyes bore into him, waiting for his answer. 

"Love." The word rolled in his mouth like the relentless waves of the open sea. If he reached back far enough, he would find the taste of salt at the back of his throat. "Love is...when someone smiles, you want to do everything in your power to keep them smiling. It brings colour into your life and makes you realise that you've been living in a world of greys. Just a single thought is enough to fill you with a new strength to keep going even when everything else has become meaningless. Love is..." 

Love tolerates grumpiness and makes you feel like you're living a dream. 

Love is red hair and a beautiful singing voice. 

Legend sighed, his breath as fleeting as a waking dream. "Love breaks you when it leaves. Once it's gone, you will never be left the same again. There will always be a coldness where you once felt warmth. Every night when you are taken by dreams, you will desperately beg and wish for it to come back when you know it never will."

And all he got in response for pouring his fucking heart out was a tiny eyebrow quirk. "By that definition, love is terrible."

"As if anything in this fucking world doesn't take as much as it gives." Legend scowled but there was a painful truth in her words. Love was as terrible as it was amazing and what it took it never gave back.

General took a deep breath. "I remember, ten years ago, when a foolish reckless recruit jumped in front of me and into a literal line of fire. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I expected to see a charred corpse. Instead, I saw a broad back shielding me from harm. Only by sheer luck and literal divine favour had that fool survived. There was no doubt that this was the hero of courage reborn. I gave him the green tunic as it was customary but I also gave him that scarf because," she dropped her head to hide a blush but her voice hitched, "I thought it would match well with his eyes."

Legend leaned back against the workbench and crossed his arms. "So he had you smitten."

General raised her head and huffed in indignation. "I am a trained Sheikah warrior and a general in command of the royal army."

"But you still had your heart captured when he selflessly leaped to your rescue." Legend smirked. Love strikes suddenly. It makes you act in ways that you never thought possible.

General huffed again and glared but the bright red on her cheeks told him he was right. "He wasn't always before me. He was by my side, as an ally and equal. He was behind me, covering any attacks that may come my way. Never once did he think he was above me because he was the legendary hero. He deferred to my command like any good soldier but there were so many little things that couldn't have been anyone other than him. It wasn't just the pastries, it was freshly washed clothes at the end of a long day, bandages for injuries that I stupidly thought I could hide...the tune of an ocarina outside my tent, capturing sleep for me where it was otherwise elusive." Then she groaned. "Why did I think he hated me?"

"Because you were being an oblivious idiot." Love makes you dumb. Case in point: Warriors all of fucking yesterday. 

"That's true." General gave a short laugh. "There are so many other people he could have loved. So many thousands that absolutely admire him. People more deserving of the honour of being the hero's spouse. He could offer his hand to anyone and no one would deny him. And yet, when he could have chosen many other more beautiful and powerful people, when he could have asked the princess herself and she would have taken him...he chose me, someone who is barely deserving of his love."

Legend smiled. Love makes you feel unworthy - that they deserve so much more than all you could possibly give. "It's not about deserving. You have no control over who others love, only who you love."

"Can I even say that I love him when he gives his so freely?"

"Well, what can you say about him?"

"He is an idiot." General said immediately. "He is reckless to a fault and doesn't know when to stop pushing himself. He cares so much and puts his complete faith in every ally. He smiles when he should be crying because he knows too well about the image he has to present. He deserves rest but he keeps fighting because his job isn't done."

Legend smirked. Almost there. "And what do you want to be to him?"

General paused, staring directly behind him as she mouthed unspoken words. "...I want to be someone he can trust, someone that he knows will never betray him. I want to be someone who he doesn't have to be the hero around, that he feels safe to just be himself. And...and no matter how much time Hylia has left for us on this plane, I want to spend every minute being there for him even when I'm not by his side."

"And what would you call that?"

"...love." she breathed, as if the word had stolen her breath. "I love him."

“Fucking finally!” 

“I’m in love with Link. I’m in love with that recklessly courageous idiot.” General said dumbly. 

Love is like a thief in the night - robbing you blind of all your common sense. 

“Don’t forget to tell him that.” Legend said. “Knowing that idiot captain, he’s going to need it.”

General was still caught up in her realisation - utterly dumbstruck as all the pieces finally fell into place. Love makes you stupid. Legend still remembered nearly walking off a cliff when he had realised he had fallen in love. 

General was still and unmoving - might as well take advantage of that. They didn’t have much time to waste. 

Legend got to his feet and stretched his stiff limbs. "Let's get this dress sorted. You better know how to move in heavy fabric because I found the perfect shit that can survive the rupee dance and I know about the whole red-blue-green thing, but a bride with green sleeves is just begging for every bad luck fucker from here to the Dark World to crash your wedding."

"I'm going to get married." General said dumbly. 

"Yeah. Aren't you glad it's at the end of the week and not the day after tomorrow?" Legend teased. "Now stretch out your arms, I need your wingspan."

General mechanically held her arms up while utter bewilderment danced in her eyes. "I asked Her Royal Grace to be my attendant."

"You were really snappy with that." Legend looked down at the measuring tape. "Woo, you've got long arms. That range must be good in battle."

"I'm going to need to find two more attendants!" Legend threw the uncut fabric over General's head but she barely noticed. "I don't even know anyone who can be attendants!"

Legend cut a hole and pulled her head out. "Don't you have some siblings or cousins or something that could fit the bill?"

“No.” General deadpanned. “Yes, I have relatives who are technically eligible but I would sooner let the kingdom fall than take the chance they would treat a Hylian wedding ceremony seriously.”

Legend crouched down to pin the skirt fabric in place. "Then I don't know - you've probably got a lot of enemies right? Ask one of them."

* * *

Legend had one hundred percent meant that as a joke but the next morning, at the very asscrack of dawn, a giant fucking dragon landed into the courtyard and woke the whole castle up with a huge roar. 

"IMPA! WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME BACK TO YOUR PUNY CASTLE?!"


	8. “IT WAS A FUCKING JOKE!” by Legend/”PROVE YOURSELF WORTHY!” by Volga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another chapter. I have no self-restraint.

Time automatically woke up two hours before it would be sunrise in Termina which converted to about four hours before sunrise in this era. Even after all these years, his body was still trained to wake up at that exact time with the Clocktown chimes still ringing in his ears. No matter. After twenty odd years, he had come to terms with that. Trauma never truly leaves, only dulls - striking again at the least opportune moment. 

Time liked being in this era. It brought him back to his younger self, a child forced to become an adult then forced to become a child again then thrust into quest after quest after quest. He had thought that this would be the end of it, that this would be the place where he would find the peace he had lost when he left his Kokiri life behind him. He remembered the kind smile of his then older counterpart. How he had managed to strike the perfect balance between treating him like the competent fighter his adult mind demanded and the little boy his child soul yearned for. He remembered how he offered to let him stay in this era. The paperwork was only the first step and the elder hero was willing to fight anyone and everyone who came between them and their life as an actual family. 

He did. 

He lost. 

And that little boy was wretched from his father's arms and thrown back into a cold world that didn't care for a child without a fairy or any parents.

But that was all in that past. Time had found love in his era in an amazing woman that was more than he ever deserved and now Warriors was getting married. 

For a moment, he could forget about the troubling conversation that they had the previous night. He knew he should have gone after him but - what comfort could he have offered? He knew Warriors needed some time to himself but it didn’t stop the guilt swelling in his chest. 

To think he once thought being an adult would fix everything. All growing up did was make him more painfully aware of how powerless he was. 

Time contemplated staying in bed and enjoying the plushness of a royally soft mattress but there was still work to be done. There was a wedding to prepare and all the other chaos that came along with it. 

Twilight peacefully snored in a bed on the opposite side of the room. He would let the boy's natural body clock wake him up when the time came. 

The guest wing the princess had given them had a common area fit to host a banquet connecting to four bedchambers and a communal washroom. They were supposed to be two per room but while Four and Sky happily bunked together, Wild, Hyrule and Wind crowded into a single room and had made a ruckus well into the early morning. The final room had remained unoccupied as Legend had snuck off to begin work on all the wedding clothes.

Time left the bedchamber dressed in his casual tunic and quick ruffle of Twilight's hair. He found Legend passed out over the central dining table, having not made the couple metres to the luscious bed awaiting him. His grumpiness had no one fooled, Legend had one of the biggest hearts of them all.

He considered carrying the sleeping hero to bed and letting him enjoy at least a couple hours in a decent sleeping position but any hopes of that were dashed when a thundering roar erupted through the castle. 

Legend was on his feet immediately, wielding the distaff he had brought with him from the sewing room like a spear and prepared for any attack that may come his way. Several minutes later, the rest of the heroes spilled out of their bedrooms, fully awake and battle ready. 

But Time recognised that roar. It was going to take more than their current arsenal to face the dragon knight of Death Mountain. 

Twilight passed him the Biggoron Sword and alertly asked, "What was that?"

"It seems the sleeping dragon has been awakened."

"There's a dragon in the castle?!" Wind exclaimed. 

"He's on-call."

Time made his way to the large windows overlooking the palace courtyard. The grounds had been completely scorched and in the centre of the burn marks was a familiar figure in red draconic armour with Impa standing opposite him. 

"IMPA! WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME BACK TO YOUR PUNY CASTLE?!"

After all these years, it seemed that the dragon knight had yet to learn how to say anything below a roar. Then again, why would a literal dragon need an inside voice?

Legend stumbled to the window and smashed his face against the glass. "She didn't - but she fucking did...I was goddamn joking!"

"Time, who's that?" Sky asked. 

"Volga, the dragon knight." Time eyed the situation below cautiously. Impa obviously instigated the meeting but for what reason? What was worth raising the ire of the scourge of Death Mountain? 

Wind gasped. "Volga?! The same one who nearly burned Warriors' arm off?! What's he doing here?!"

"WHERE IS LINK?!" Volga thundered, his voice shaking the common room. "I REFUSE TO DEAL WITH ANYONE THAT ISN'T DRAGONKIN. THAT INCLUDES BOTH YOU AND THE ROYAL WHELP."

"We need to get down there." Hyrule said but Time held up a hand to stop him. 

"Volga may have started as our enemy in the war but he later became our ally after Warriors' earned his respect." Time explained. "But as extra...insurance, Lana had placed an enchantment on him to prevent him from acting out. As long as that charm is still intact, then there's nothing to worry about."

The way the dragon had roared and raged after his powers had been sealed, nearly ravaging the camp where he had been pinned down, was one of Time’s more welcomed dreams. It was better to remember how he had cackled at the grown-ups’ foolishness than the hurried breath, the eternal ticking and the thoughts of being too late…

Time shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for those thoughts.

He drew all the heroes' attention to a glowing trinket in Impa's hand, burning bright as a bonfire - that she promptly smashed on the ground. 

What. 

The change was immediate and palpable. A great heat wave crashed through the room as if a volcano had spontaneously sprouted in the courtyard. Volga glowed with a newly unsealed power but he looked just as flabbergasted as the observing heroes. 

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Volga roared, a torrent of flames erupting into the air. 

"I’m heading fucking down there!" was all the warning Legend gave before he opened the window and jumped down into the courtyard. 

Time sighed. This...this wasn't going to end well. He jumped after Legend with the other heroes following suit. Luckily, they were only two stories up - not the biggest leap the heroes have ever made.

Impa casually turned to the heroes as they landed. "I apologize for disrupting your rest, heroes."

"Fucking apologize later!" Legend growled. "I was joking about inviting your enemies!" 

But Impa smirked, an uncharacteristic show of cockiness. "But it was a good idea." she turned back to the dragon knight, "I challenge you, Volga of Death Mountain, to a duel!"

She drew her weapon, her naginata, and a ring of red fire magic encircled her. This was extremely odd. Normally Impa used her great blade and its associated water magic to face a flame-attuned opponent - yet here she was ready to fight fire with fire. Time was deeply concerned for what she had planned.

Volga seemingly came to the same conclusion but instead of worry, he burst out with booming laughter. "SO FINALLY THE SHEIKAH FACES ME IN TRUE COMBAT RATHER THAN LURKING IN THE SHADOWS!" he extended a clawed hand and pike burst into existence with a flurry of flames. "I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE. LET US FIGHT!"

The telltale white glow of force magic surrounded Volga and the dragon knight thrusted forward in a fiery blaze. Impa countered with her own force attack and spun her naginata. A circle of red magic appeared in front of her that Volga charged directly into. A ring of giant naginatas emerged from the ground and slammed into the dragon knight before his attack could make contact. 

For both of them to start with their force attacks...that meant they came into this battle prepared and out for blood. 

Legend took a step forward. Impa spun around, her weapon streaked with flames and she threw her naginata at the hero's feet. A wall of flames sprouted from the ground, blocking the heroes from the fight but still allowing them to observe. Legend jumped back with a yelp, slightly singed but otherwise unharmed. Impa's message was clear: do not disrupt. 

Time spied Wild swiping through his slate and held up his hand to stop him. He had no idea what sparked this insane plan but he trusted Impa was capable of handling herself. 

But his mind drifted: where was Warriors and the princess? There was no way they could not have heard Volga's arrival. Had Impa warned them beforehand?

That break to create the wall of flames gave Volga the time to shake off the damage from Impa's force attack. He launched at Impa with a left swipe from his pike. Impa quickly threw up her guard but Volga countered with his signature guard breaker. He spun his pike, shattering Impa's guard, then plunged it into the ground with a splash of flames. 

Time expected Impa to leap up and dodge the attack. She didn't.

Impa weathered the strike. Instead of stumbling back from her broken guard, she immediately launched into her standard string of attacks. A swing left. A backspin with a follow up slash. A low spin that knocked Volga off balance. Then she leapt up, poised to throw her naginata, and that was when Volga struck. 

The dragon knight jumped as well, meeting Impa in the air - quickly slashing left, then right and finally downwards, slamming Impa back into the ground. Time knew she could have dodged that whole string. Sheikah were known for their midair mobility yet Impa was utilizing none of it. She was fighting like she had the bulk to take every hit then follow up with her own flurry of attacks. 

Realisation struck. 

Impa wasn't fighting like a Sheikah, she was fighting like a dragon. 

Was she trying to  _ impress  _ Volga?!

Impa didn't stagger at the impact. The moment Volga touched down, she immediately rushed in for an attack. Three strikes with her naginata then followed with a leaping thrust into the ground. Volga was engulfed in a rectangle of flames and Impa launched into the air. Her naginata glowed red hot as it split into four and hovered in the air which she quickly kicked down into Volga. 

The first he dodged. The second grazed his leg. The third he grabbed with a transformed dragon hand and threw right back at Impa. 

Thankfully, she didn't try to take that attack or else they would have to explain to Warriors why his bride was skewered by her own weapon. She knocked the hurling weapon off course with her final glowing naginata and both were dispelled. The original naginata reappeared in her hands which she immediately spun into Volga. The dragon knight staggered as the weapon embedded into the ground. Impa dove down to her weapon, grabbing the shaft then spinning around it to hit Volga with a roundhouse kick. She ended vertically aligned with her blade but before she could pull it out, Volga swiped at it with his pike, launching both Impa and the naginata back into the air. 

Impa gracefully backflipped over Volga's follow-up strike and met his next attack with a swipe of her own. Their weapons crossed and both pushed against each other - a test of strength to force the other to give way.

Though the wall of flames separating the heroes from the combatants had faded away, they were still stuck in place, spectating the battle. 

Volga pushed. 

Impa pushed back. 

Neither budged an inch. 

Then there was the slightest give. 

A foot sliding against dirt. A solid stance giving way. 

Impa pushed more and Volga staggered back. 

Both jumped back, now on opposite sides of the battlefield from where they started and weapons held ready for another bout. 

The dragon knight's back was exposed to the heroes. It would be so easy for one of them to land a strike from behind - but no one dared. This clearly was a battle based in honour.

Then Volga laughed.

He slammed his pike into the ground and it dispersed in a torrent of flames. 

"I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT TO CALL A COWARDLY SHEIKAH KIN," the dragon knight bellowed. "YET HERE IS ONE WHO HAS PROVEN JUST AS FEROCIOUS AS ANY DRAGON. YOU HAVE IMPRESSED ME IMPA."

Impa smiled and sheathed her naginata. She stood tall despite panting heavily and her skin shining with sweat. "That honours me Volga. I would be privileged to call you kin as well."

Volga laughed again. "YOU HAVE SHOWN YOU ARE ABOVE THE WEAKNESSES OF YOUR KIND. WE NOW HAVE A BOND FORGED IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE!"

"What was that all about?!" Legend yelled. 

Volga sharply turned to the heroes, finally acknowledging their existence. While the others reached for their weapons, Time merely smirked. 

"It's been a while, Volga."

"RUNT! YOU HAVE GROWN! AND EARNED THE MARKS OF A TRUE WARRIOR I SEE." Volga then turned to the other heroes. "AND IT SEEMS LINK HAS HAD MORE BATTLEWORTHY SPAWN!"

The other heroes spluttered.

"Warriors as our-?!"

"Dear goddesses, don't put that image in my head."

"I don't want to think about that. I don't want to think about tha-" 

Volga turned back to Impa. "WHY DID YOU CALL ME HERE? I KNOW YOUR KIND. YOU MAY NOW BE PROVEN KIN BUT SUCH ACTS DO NOT COME WITHOUT AN EXPECTATION OF RETURN."

"Link and I are getting married and I would like you to be my attendant before Din." Impa said. 

Volga let out another bellow of laughter. "SO HE FINALLY ASKED YOU TO BE HIS MATE!"

Impa blinked. "You knew?"

Volga huffed, the closest thing to being subtle this entire time. "DRAGONS HAVE NO NEED TO PROCREATE. FROM OUR ELEMENT WE ARE BORN AND FROM OUR ELEMENT WE WILL RETURN. BUT I COULD SEE THE FIRE THAT LINK BURNS FOR YOU. A TRUE FLAME BEYOND THE WITCH'S SMOKE OF DESIRE. I CARE NOT FOR HUMAN MATING RITUALS BUT FOR TWO DRAGONKIN I WILL GRACIOUSLY TAKE PART."

Impa gave a visible sigh of relief, her whole body relaxing as if a weight was taken off her shoulders. "One more now." Time heard her mumble. 

Volga looked around. "WHERE IS LINK? HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TO SEE HIS MATE FIGHT LIKE TRUE DRAGONKIN!"

Before anyone could answer, there was a familiar toll of bells.

"THE PRINCESS HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

Volga growled. "BUT IT SEEMS NOT ALL WHO LINK ASSOCIATES WITH ARE WORTHY KIN."

Everyone immediately turned to Wild who threw his hands up in defence. "It wasn't me! I've been here the whole time!"

The princess had been kidnapped again but the question was: was it Warriors or Zelda? One report from a pair of frantic injured Sheikah guards later, it was apparently both.


	9. "I was just trying to help!" by Twilight

As much fun as exchanging wedding traditions with the other heroes was, there were still other matters to attend to. It was the longest meeting of Warriors' entire career but it was definitely the most productive. With the princess, the general and the hero at the decision making table, actual work could get done without having to deal with the petty politics and egos of the other officers and military officials.

And for a first, Warriors was completely focused. Proxi teased him for the slight tinge of red on his cheeks but that was basically instinct now whenever he was around the general. Impa. His future wife. 

A new peace had settled over him. There were no more worries about what Impa thought of him. Gone was the anxiety of making a fool of himself around her - well, more of a fool than his lovesick heart made him before his confession. He had confessed. He had proposed. And she had said yes.

His heart was filled with warm fuzzy feelings while his mind zoomed through battle contingencies as he reported on the events surrounding his new ‘adventure’. There were too many differences for it to be Cia again but there were too many similarities for it to be completely unrelated. Warriors was cast back to that sealed chamber where his pride and arrogance had birthed his greatest foe. Those shadows had been so sentient, so alive and so deeply imbued with time magic - what if one of them had managed to escape?

“Have you ever considered not immediately going through the portals?” Artemis asked. 

Warriors shook his head. “Too risky. There’s no telling what else could stumble in there or come stumbling out. The displaced monsters are enough trouble as they are. They always open within our vicinity and close once we enter them so we don’t want to take our chances.”

“So these new portals shouldn’t interfere with domestic affairs any more than the residual magic from the previous wars.” But then Artemis sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s nothing you did.” Artemis said with a dismissive wave. “Actually, it’s a good thing you disappeared when you did. In the wake of Gateau Armitale’s...treasonous actions in the previous war, Lord Armitale has changed his tune about marriage and is now fanatically supportive of his remaining son courting you.”

“Looks like I’m stealing all your potential spouses,” Warriors weakly joked but his stomach dropped at what that implied. 

Lord Armitale’s youngest son had always persistently pursued ‘Linkle’, much to his father’s displeasure. Now that he was his last heir, the intended marriage to the princess would be more detrimental than beneficial. The old laws of land distribution would strip Lord Armitale of most of his power. Marrying his son to ‘that no-name peasant girl’ was now the more lucrative option - especially since that ‘peasant girl’ was also the hero. 

Artemis sighed. “Lord Armitale approached me about arranging an engagement between you two - shut him down pretty quickly after reminding him how he previously offered me his son’s hand.”

“That would be a match made in  _ hell.”  _ Warriors said immediately. “I have the right to challenge that marriage-”

“I know.” Artemis interrupted. “I may hate his guts and he hates mine but it would be a politically sound marriage that would keep the father in line and the son off your tail. It’s not ideal but I’m not getting any younger and the kingdom needs an heir.”

“Arty-”

“Enough Link.” Artemis said sternly before the meeting spiraled into that old argument. Artemis may be willing to put her own happiness aside for her royal duties but Warriors would never allow it. “What you should be more concerned about is Lord Armitale trying to dig up who your Lord Paramount is and try to force a marriage through them.”

Warriors gulped. What Lord Armitale didn’t know was that he was from Faron - the province that he presided over. “Freeman status.”

Artemis nodded. “I’ll be able to grant you that at the wedding. This would be so much more easier if those stupid laws weren’t stopping me from knighting you...then there’s still the issue of finding a new Lord Paramount for Akkala that  _ isn’t _ dead or a traitor…” 

If only their lives weren’t so deeply entwined with politics. 

Thankfully, the topic shifted away to the much easier issue of trying to convince the Lord Paramount of Lanayru that starting a war with the zora was a  _ bad idea. _

Warriors couldn't keep his eyes off Impa. Serious. Focused. Cold, some would say. Bitchy, said others. But overall, unreadable. The Sheikah kept their blades close and their emotions closer. Impa was no exception. It had left him with many sleepless nights wondering if he had left a good impression on her. Impa had thought Warriors hated her but the reverse was also true: many times he had been left wallowing believing that she held nothing but ire for him. 

But he had actually been able to talk to her. She had actually said yes. That was what he put his faith in - because her words were sincere and true. 

They had to be.

Impa swept out of the room immediately after the meeting concluded. The same as any other time she had ended a meeting frustrated from his behaviour. A part of Warriors dropped, wondering if the past day was nothing more than an elaborate delusion concocted by his mind. Everything still felt so surreal - could he even trust that this wasn't a fantasy? 

Warriors reached out and grabbed her hand. 

Impa stopped and turned back to him, completely blank. Impa's emotions were like a hidden blade but Warriors' were like the scarf around his neck, bold and bright for the world to see and so easy to grab and choke him by. He knew the picture he painted grasping for the slightest bit of contact, pathetic and desperate. 

"The Hero of Legend requested to see me for the dress fitting." Impa said, reading Warriors' unasked question so easily. 

"R-right." His words weren't failing him yet but he wished he still had that concussion courage. "I love you."

Impa stared at him. There wasn't a single twitch of the lip, the quirk of the brow, not even breath out of place. Just a slight sheen in her eyes that said she was thinking of something but never betraying what.

Her hand didn't try to pull away but it also didn't respond to his hold. It laid limp, offering him the simple comfort of her touch. But was it simple comfort or bare tolerance? It had only been one day after all. One day after a decade of her thinking that he despised her. 

"I shouldn't keep him waiting." Impa said, but she didn't pull away.

Warriors let go. "You shouldn't." He said softly. 

Impa nodded. A polite nod. Nothing different from the other courtesy nods of the past ten years. Was she tired of his clinginess already? 

Impa left the room and Warriors leaned back against the table with his face buried in his scarf - a cruel mockery of the previous meeting. Yes, they were going to be married by week's end but had anything really changed?

Proxi fluttered closer and Artemis sighed behind him. 

"You're both idiots."

Warriors resisted the urge to bury his face into the table. Artemis and Proxi may be used to his pitiful behaviour but indulging in that now would do nothing for his mood. 

"My door is always open." Artemis said, patting him on the back before she left. 

They were still going through the same motions. It was still the same song and dance they had done dozens of times before. 

"Please don't tell me you're going to wallow in the forge or kitchen or training grounds again." Proxi said. 

Warriors shook his head. It was tempting but falling back on his old habits would do him no good. "I'll go see what the others are up to. Might as well make up for being a crappy host so far." 

"Maybe you should have told me those travelling companions weren't some random tagalongs but the previous heroes of courage and that one of them was Young Link."

"What difference would that make?"

"We could have avoided the whole kidnapping incident entirely!" 

No kidnapping meant he and Impa wouldn't have spent half a day in a cave. He would have never confessed and proposed and heard her say yes. The memory was still fresh but he wished time had frozen there. At least then he still had that warmth that he was desperately reaching for.

Proxi led the way to the guest wing even though Warriors could have found his way there with his eyes closed. It was easier just to focus on her glowing form rather than letting his mind wander. 

He loved her. He knew that. She knew that. 

He had asked if she loved him. She said yes. 

But yes was simply an answer to a question. It wasn't a statement on its own. 

Only Time and Twilight were in the guest wing common room. It was completely dark save for the candelabra between them as they stared out the large glass windows into the night sky - a common sight for the pair during every night watch. Had they even organised a night watch? Warriors wouldn't be surprised, castle security was utter crap. 

Both noticed their arrival and Warriors saw how they reached for weapons obscured from sight. Once you join the battle, you never truly leave. Even when they were at the ranch, everyone still kept a weapon within arms reach. 

Warriors forced a smile. It wouldn't do anyone good to offload his worries here. "Still up I see?" he said lightly, dragging a chair from the table to create a small circle between the three of them. 

Proxi flew about, providing some extra light. Time's eyes were trained on the blue fairy, that same lost look from a decade ago. Everyone had their traumas and they had no right to pry. Warriors had the privilege of disclosure with Artemis, no matter what turn their relationship took. But it seemed that after twenty years for Time, he still hadn't found closure yet.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Twilight asked. "It's rather rude to leave your betrothed alone at night."

Warriors flushed. "We're not married yet!"

"In my era, couples are free to share a bed once the engagement is official...consummate as well." If Warriors face wasn't half-buried in his scarf, then he would have seen Twilight turning red. 

"That's a good way to get wedlock bastards. Engagements can be broken."

"Not if there's a child on the way. It can be used to secure it." Then Twilight groaned. "Why did I even bring it up? I still can't believe that you're Time's father."

Warriors pulled his scarf down and smirked. "What? Just realised that you've been disrespecting your grandfather?"

"Dear goddesses, please don't put it that way." 

Time hummed. "Leave the boy be. We still have many months worth of teasing, dad."

Twilight groaned again and buried his face in his hands while the other two laughed at his expense. 

An old warmth bubbled in Warriors' chest. Dad. His son was back. Now a grown man close to his age, yes, but he was back.

"Why did you come here anyway?" Time asked. "We have a long couple days ahead if we want this shotgun wedding to be a success."

Warriors leaned back into his chair. He wanted a break. Something to distract him from the anxious thoughts, unreadable expressions and unsaid words. 

"I thought it was about time I told you about the thrice bound cord."

"Thrice bound cord...I was going to ask you about that." Twilight said. "It has something to do with Time being your son?"

Warriors nodded. "It comes from old scripture: a single thread snaps under pressure but two can be tightly bound. A thrice bound cord is unbreakable."

"You're surprisingly pious considering your...uh, promiscuity."

"It was just some harmless flirting! I never actually did anything!" Warriors flushed again and looked up. "Blame a certain fairy for telling me that being a ladies man was a desirable trait."

Proxi fluttered down with a huff. "I just gave you a suggestion that I thought you would have seen as a joke. You were the one who went out into the taverns."

"After you pushed me into one!" Warriors countered. He adjusted his scarf and sat up. "But yeah, I know a fair amount of scripture. A side effect of growing up with a descendent of the goddess. It's interesting how many perceptions have no basis in the Word - but I won't bore you with theological ramblings. The thrice bound cord is an acknowledgement of any children from outside the marriage into it and for the children to welcome a new parental figure into their family."

Both Time and Twilight fell silent. There were the candles and Proxi's fairy light but it was still too dark for Warriors to make out their expressions. It was more unreadable silence that he specifically came here to avoid. 

"It's not something overly religious or anything and you don't need to literally think of Impa as your mother. Time rarely ever calls me dad when even when he's a little brat so this doesn't have to change anything between us." Warriors knew he was speaking too fast and his anxieties were bleeding into his voice but he just needed to fill that void. "It's just a small little thing that would be nice for the ceremony." 

Warriors remembered his old fantasies from a decade ago, when he thought he could muster up the courage to speak to Impa after the first war and have a cord woven between them and his newly adopted son. He almost did at that time - but Impa had stood against him like everyone else. The Hero of Time had to be returned to his era regardless of the fact that Young Link had literally no one waiting for him there. Warriors didn't hate her, he didn't hate any of them, but he was angry with no target. So all that anger had been turned inward. That had been a brutal reminder that duty came first above all else.

Finally Time said, "So that's why you taught me how to braid." then he laughed. "This makes all the times I nearly called Impa mom less embarrassing."

"I'd be honoured to be a part of it, that you consider me family." And the smile Warriors heard in Twilight's voice made is heart flutter. 

"I consider all of you family," Warriors said. "But the two of you...well..."

"It's different." Time said.

"Yeah...children will always hold a special place in their parent's heart."

Warriors would always consider the other heroes as his brothers but Time would always be the little boy he tucked into bed and Twilight was living proof that his son's family would flourish for generations to come. 

"I'm just surprised that children from outside the marriage would even be considered." Twilight said. "More often than not, they get written out of any inheritance or even kicked out of the family home when they're old enough - and that's for children from previous marriages. If they were bastards..."

Warriors nodded. "That's the reason the thrice bound cord exists. It binds the family together and promises to support each other even when there are no blood ties."

"Will there be any more children?" Twilight asked. 

It was only a matter of time before this subject came up. "It's not something we've discussed yet but...I don't have the anatomy for that - and Impa has expressed her distaste about how vulnerable pregnancy leaves a person. Then if we consider our positions, any children we bring in will have a giant target painted on their backs."

"But that didn't stop you from wanting to take every war orphan we crossed paths with along with us." Time said. "I've always wanted to be a big brother."

"How about the rest of us?" Twilight teased. 

Time gave a dramatic sigh. "I nearly get called dad every other night by one of the others. A father figure can't exactly be a brother figure."

"Who knows, I might have an orphanage full of siblings for you hidden away," Warriors joked. A part of him was grateful with how quickly they moved past that subject. He really was blessed by the people around him. 

"There is one thing I'm concerned about." Twilight said. "Isn't this all happening a little fast? We've only been in your era for three days and in another five, you'll be married."

Warriors resisted the urge to fidget. "Things have always been done quickly here. War doesn't give much time for second thoughts."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but Impa only learned of your feelings yesterday yet now she's willing to make a commitment as big as marriage even when it's likely that the portals will drag us away shortly after the wedding."

"Yeah...I know but..." 

Twilght sighed. "I'm sorry for playing devil's advocate but is marriage really what Impa wants at this point? She suddenly learns that someone has harboured feelings for her for nearly fifteen years and not just anyone but the Hero of Courage. Not to mention, she's a single woman nearing the end of her prime. That's a lot of pressure on her."

And that brought all of Warriors' doubts crashing down. "She can always say no." he said softly. 

"Can she really?" Twilight asked. "With how fast everything is going and considering how bombastic you are, that might not seem so obvious."

Warriors thought of the Guardian of Time - who held unrequited feelings for the hero so deep that she was torn in two and started a war. Had Cia proposed to Warriors during the war, what would he have done? Would he have given in just to placate the sorceress? 

Everything the hero does is propaganda - that was whatArtemis had said. Warriors wouldn't have done something as drastic as start a war if Impa had said no. He might have been completely heartbroken but he would have accepted the rejection gracefully and learn to let go, or at least that was what he hoped he would do. But they lived in a kingdom ravaged by war - a land that desperately needed something to lift their spirits. Maybe the pressure wasn't coming from him but Impa was Sheikah and their top priority has always been the good of the kingdom. Warriors had honest feelings but it was impossible to separate his life from the politics.

Proxi flew down near his face. "Link?"

"You're crying," Time said. 

Warriors pressed a hand to his cheek. So he was. 

He quickly wiped the tears away with his scarf. "I'll talk with Impa in the morning. Make sure that - that this is what she wants."

Warriors didn't mean to cry. He didn't mean to run out of the room. He didn't mean to leave Proxi behind and have Twilight yell after him. But-

He had asked Impa if she loved him and she said yes...but she had never said she loved him back.

"Link, wait!"

Warriors was running, eyes closed and tears streaking down his face. There was no need to see where he was going, his feet already knew the path. He just kept running as if that would ever let him outrun the thoughts that plagued his head. Could he really say that Impa loved him and wasn't just going along with all this because she felt like there was no other choice. 

He knocked at Artemis's door - well, more like pounded. He didn't have to hit so hard. He knew Artemis was a light sleeper, if she even was asleep at all, but his anxieties had him battering at the door like it was a siege gate. 

Once. Twice -

The door slid open and Warriors stopped just in time to not punch Artemis's groggy face. 

She yawned but then stopped midway after seeing Warriors' pathetic state. "Link? What's wrong?"

Warriors sniffed. "Can - can we talk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the ending of this was inspired by this art https://dfanart.tumblr.com/post/614124781027098624/ which I later learned was based on an extract from this fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/21606556  
> Check them both out if you've got the chance!


	10. “How do I know she loves me?” by Warriors/ “Can’t we have a conversation in peace?!” by Artemis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this section took longer to edit than it had any right to be - mostly because I was debating merging it with the next scene but I liked the cut off point too much. It may be short but we're making progress!

Artemis opened the door without another word and Warriors feet instinctively led him to the armchair next to her bed. He flopped onto the chair, leaning back and hanging his head over the edge. Something else that was pitifully familiar. Her ceiling was still the same dizzying blue mosaic that served as a minor distraction for his buzzing mind. 

"I fucked up, Arty."

"What happened, Lin?" Artemis sat down at the edge of her bed, attentive and waiting to listen. 

"I'm as bad as Cia."

"Now that's a bold claim." 

"It's true!” Warriors ran his fingers through his hair. If it had been any longer, he would have been pulling at it. “I've had feelings for someone that I kept festering instead of actually talking to them then I suddenly spring them and now I've got them backed into a corner with no escape-"

There was a sigh and a sudden yank at his scarf, forcing Warriors to sit upwards. 

Artemis pressed her forehead against his and glared. "You are  _ nothing  _ like that witch."

Warrior gulped back a sob. "But-" 

"Did you force yourself onto Impa?"

"No."

"Did you obsessively idolize her to the point of creating a stalker shrine?"

"No."

"Would you get mad if she rejected you right here and now?"

"No."

"Then you are nothing like that witch." Artemis let go of his scarf and sat back down on her bed. "What happened, Lin?" she asked again.

Warriors sighed and stumbled back into his chair. "How do I know Impa loves me?"

"She agreed to marry you." 

"Yes but - does she love me? There are a dozen other reasons why she would marry me other than love. I'm the hero, she's a Sheikah and the kingdom needs something to be happy about after ten fucking years of war…” Warriors paused for a breath. He didn’t want this to end in a tearful breakdown. “Saying yes is easy but will she ever say 'I love you'? I...I just - I just don't know anymore."

Artemis sighed. "That's something that you need to talk to Impa about. Maybe you might not get the answer you want but at least you'll get that weight off your chest." She gave a melancholic smile. "It worked for me."

Warriors smiled back. He had always seen Artemis as his closest friend but never considered that she might have seen him differently. "Yeah, things would have been so much more shittier if we didn't talk."

His younger self would have never picked up on Artemis’ romantic feelings if she hadn’t spelled them out for him. He was completely oblivious and she had been frustrated.

"I thought I would lose what we had by saying that - but here we are now, closer than we ever were before.” she softly chuckled. “It may not have been what I wanted and still hurts even now but there's no way I could have moved on without that." 

"Yeah."

"So stop giving into those thoughts and talk to her. It's going to hurt like hell when you don't get the answer you hope for but you need the courage to face that - and courage is your whole gig."

"I don't think this is what the goddesses had in mind," Warriors chuckled. "Can you give me a concussion?"

Artemis laughed. "If that's how you find your courage, then you'll start losing your higher brain functions."

"Have you seen how many clubs I've taken to the head?" Warriors rapped his forehead with his knuckles. "Concussions are the source of all courage."

They both laughed. 

Warriors felt a weight lifted from his chest but that didn't stop the unease brewing in his chest. "Thanks Arty, I needed that. I'll talk with Impa in the morning and then…" he gulped, "then we'll work things out from there."

"That's the best you can do. Just remember, your mind will always come up with worse things than reality." 

Warriors sighed. "Will it be okay if the wedding doesn't fall through? State morale-"

Artemis gave a dismissing wave. "We still have the festival to fall back on."

"And the debt from Cia and Lana?"

"You and your companions getting a couple extra days of rest will be worth it." Then Artemis grinned. "For a change of pace, why don't you show off that grandma dress of yours again."

"You've seen me in that dress before." But that didn't stop Warriors from grinning.

"Yes, when we were twelve and you still had those stupid pigtails."

"Oi! Blame your nursemaids, not me. Long hair is a safety hazard." 

"And you wrote the book on every way long hair can get caught in things.” then Artemis smirked. “How did you get your hair stuck in Epona's bridle again?"

Warriors groaned and ran his fingers through his thankfully shorter hair. "That I blame on the stupid stable hand who was more focused on flirting than doing his job. How you manage to run around without your hair getting caught in every little thing has to be divine intervention."

"Being a descendent of the goddess has its perks." Artemis said, whipping her braid. "So, dress?"

Warriors nodded. "Yeah, dress."

Getting into the dress was as much of a disaster that Warriors thought it would be. After all these years, Artemis still had no clue how to get court dresses on herself let alone help someone else into one. They spent several hours giggling and trying to swim through the masses of fabric. It took much longer than necessary but they eventually were able to get Warriors into his would be wedding dress.

Artemis whistled. "You really did grow into it."

"I told you I would." Warriors said, twirling around in hi skirts and letting them fan out. Depending on how his talk with Impa ends, this may be the last time he would get to wear it. 

"Styles really have changed over the years." Artemis tugged at the long draping sleeves. "This is a waste of fabric and a tripping hazard."

Warriors shrugged. "You know how nobles were - even how they still are. They're all about frivolous designs to show off their wealth."

"At least they've gotten more practical. You're literally going to have your arms full of skirts if you want to walk anywhere. Can you even fight in this?"

Warriors smirked. "I can fight in anything." 

And to prove his point, he grabbed Artemis's rapier from the mantle. There was no way he could use his broadsword in this - that required a wider range of motion that the sleeves didn’t allow for. He spun around, the fanning skirts giving him the mobility he needed to make several elegant jabs at the training dummy in the corner of her room. 

Artemis clapped. "Impressive."

From the corner of his eye, Warriors saw a small ball of light fly into the room. He gave Proxi a small nod of acknowledgement before tugging at his skirt. 

"Might need to get this altered though..." Court dresses were made for sitting pretty, not for combat. A battle in this dress would be like trying to fight with another person strapped to his back. Manageable but completely cumbersome.

And when it came to alterations, there was only one person he had in mind.

Artemis frowned, coming to the same thought. "She won't do it."

"She might!" Warriors protested. "I was her favourite!"

"Yeah, when she thought you were a girl who was going to marry her nephew." Artemis scoffed. 

"It's been over ten years! She could have changed."

"Have you even spoken to her since you came out?"

Warriors thought back to the order forms returned with their payment and letters that never received a reply. "...I tried."

"Lin, this is just going to be picking at old wounds." then Artemis sighed. "Someone that rooted in their prejudices isn't going to change. Just find another tailor."

"There's no one who does a better job than Aunt- than Madame Dolores." Warriors said firmly.

"And there's no one as stubborn and bigoted." Artemis countered just as firmly. "She doesn't accept you as a man and even if she did, there's no way she'll accept you marrying a Sheikah."

"...But you came around." Warriors said softly. 

Artemis pinched the bridge of her nose. "Talk to Impa first and make sure we still  _ have _ a wedding to tailor for…then we can deal with that old hag."

Then, the curtains rustled. It could have been the wind or-

Artemis threw a kunai from her sleeve. There was a yelp of pain and a body hitting the floor. 

Several voices laughed. 

"Excellent aim, princess."

The room was suddenly filled with smoke. Sheikah smoke.

"But not good enough."

Warriors trained his sight on the blue light bobbing through the smoke as Proxi gave him somewhere to aim instead of blindly stabbing. He stabbed something twice before the blade crossed with another weapon with a light clang. One handed, curved, weak metal - so likely a sickle. With a swift twist of his wrist, he wretched the weapon out of his unseen opponent's hand and launched it in Aretmis's direction. He knew she caught it when several more bodies dropped to the floor. 

Warriors tried to move but nearly tripped over his skirt. That little opening was all it took for the rapier to be knocked out of his hands. His arms were forced behind his back and a blade was pressed against his throat.

The smoke cleared with an unnatural wind. Six bodies laid on the ground and Artemis was holding her own against another three. Her eyes widened at his restrained state.

Warriors tried to struggle but the grip on his arms tightened.

"Drop your weapon." 

And Artemis was forced to comply before she was knocked out. 

There was a blow to the back of his head. Before Warriors fell unconscious, he caught sight of red leather armour and an upside down Sheikah eye. 

* * *

Impa inspected the slashes, scorch marks and bananas that littered the princess's destroyed bedroom and thought that her relatives had arrived early. A faux kidnapping was definitely within their definition of a ‘pre-wedding celebration.’

However, the Hero of the Wild thought otherwise. “Yiga.” he concluded with a frown. 

_ Sheikah traitors from the future. _

"It seems the portals are displacing more dangerous foes." The Hero of the Four Sword muttered. 

"Warriors' clothes are here." The Hero of Hyrule said. "Was he playing body double again?"

"Then where's the actual princess?" The Hero of Twilight asked. 

"The princess would have alerted us immediately if Warriors had been kidnapped - not waited until the servants checked in the next morning." Young Link said. "Both of them must have been taken."

The Hero of Hyrule found a discarded bottle with a small light frantically darting around. He popped open the bottle and the freed Proxi confirmed what they already suspected. 

The Hero of Legend threw Impa a concerned look - an unspoken question of infidelity in his eyes. There was no need to worry about that. Link and the princess had made it clear many times that they had no romantic intentions between them - simply a closeness born from a lifelong friendship. 

But they had been kidnapped. 

Link had been kidnapped by Sheikah traitors.

Impa straightened and turned to the Hero of the Wild. "Where would these traitors likely make their base?"

"Somewhere secluded - cavernous. They also like abandoned temples."

Impa nodded. "Prepare yourself for battle and meet me in the war room. We'll narrow down the possible locations and make our rescue plans from there."

And she swept out of the room without waiting for a response. 

The heroes would gather their bearings and convene in the war room but by then, Link and the princess would be returned to safety. There was only one place those traitors could be hiding and Impa had no patience or mercy. 

Proxi flew into her scarf and Impa didn’t dispute her presence. The fairy knew what she was planning and boiled with the same rage. 

Volga was still waiting in the courtyard - the palace staff refused to let him inside after the last time. 

"Link and the princess have been kidnapped and the captors have retreated to the temple ruins in the southern ravine." Impa informed. 

Normally, there would be planning. 

Normally, Impa would be objective. 

But her beloved had been kidnapped. 

She had never told him she loved him.

"We fly into battle immediately." Impa growled. "There will be no mercy."

Volga gave a vicious grin. "YOU TRULY ARE DRAGON KIN." He turned his back to her. "CONSIDER THIS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE."

Impa nodded and clung to Volga's back. With a great roar, the dragon knight shifted into his true form and launched into the sky.


	11. “A dress does not mean distress,” by Artemis/”But the dress is the one distressed,” by Warriors

Warriors woke up sharp and alert. 

The wonders when you weren't hit hard enough to get a concussion.

Ankles tied together. Arms tied behind back. 

The smell of moss, crumbling stone and - oddly, bananas. 

Kidnapped again. 

Wasn't that absolutely  _ lovely _ .

He was leaned against something solid - a wall. So that narrowed down his location to the temple ruins in the ravine unless magic and portals were involved. 

Hope for the best but prepare for the worst - it could be somewhere near the castle but be prepared to be in another era. 

He listened for the number of breaths. Slow heavy breathing next him - definitely Artemis pretending to be unconscious. Fuck, both of them had been taken? No, he needed to stay focused. 

Count the breaths, how many people were there? Ten. Ten soft light breaths. So Sheikah - or Sheikah defectors. 

Warriors desperately hoped that these were displaced Yiga from Wild's era and not traitors from his own.

Unfortunately, Artemis was situated too far away for him to tap. He slowed his breathing to a steady pace, hoping to catch her attention. The good thing about Morse code was that it was adaptable to anything you can make long and short signals with. 

" Awake ?"

After a moment, he heard her breath out, " Yes. I'll go first ."

Right, Warriors was the one in the court dress. Zelda would stir first and then he would follow. Let assume that he was the princess. Let them underestimate him. 

But he won't be able to fight like this, not without ruining the dress. The dress was going to get damaged one way or another - and after all the years his great-grandmother had taken care of it. 

Artemis made a show of waking up - a quick exaggerated gasp, some token struggling. Laughter echoed. They were definitely in the temple ruins. 

"Ah, so one of our guests has awakened." Male. Likely in his late forties.

"Who are you?! Where are you?!" Artemis demanded, but Warriors had no doubt she had already located all the hidden occupants around the room. "You will be hanged for this transgression against the crown!"

So Artemis was going straight for the dramatics.

The speaker laughed again. "A feisty one. Wake her royal grace up - I don't want to be wasting my breath."

Warriors was kicked in the shins and he resisted the urge to kick back. He gave a fake groan as he opened his eyes. Yup - this was the temple ruins, likely what used to be the inner sanctum. 

The speaker was standing right in front of him - and he was fat. The man was dressed in the red leather armour and white mask bearing an inverted Sheikah eye that he had come to expect from the Yiga traitors but his short stature and pot belly definitely stood out. 

"Sheikah?" Warriors whispered in a high-pitched voice.

"Not quite, princess." Good, so they had fallen for it and mistaken him for the princess. That should free up Artemis's hands. "Though we were once part of those Sheikah fools who groveled to those pathetic royals, we found a greater master in our Lord Ganon and became the Yiga Clan! And I am their leader! The mighty! The powerful! The dashing Kohga!"

The man struck a stupid pose and the hidden Yiga enthusiastically. Kohga was just as unimpressive as Wild had described him. Fighting him would be easy - but it was best not to underestimate him now.

Warriors gave another exaggerated gasp. "The Sheikah would never betray the crown to serve Ganon!" He yelled in a shrill voice - he was definitely going to need some warm lemon and honey later. 

Kohga chuckled evilly like a poorly written stage villain. "They have and they will, princess. It is inevitable. Just like the fall of the royal family and the demise of the hero!"

Cheers erupted from around the room. 

"The hero will never fall to the likes of you!" Wild had defeated Kohga before so he would make easy work of him a second time - that is, if Warriors and Artemis left anything for him. 

"Your precious hero will foolishly walk straight into this trap knowing that his dear princess is in the middle of it! The Yiga Clan will have their revenge!" More cheers came from the peanut gallery and Warriors wondered just how dumb they could be. “The hero humiliated us - ransacked our base, bested me in combat and depleted our entire store of precious  _ precious  _ bananas!” The hidden Yiga booed - apparently Wild’s greatest transgression against them was banana theft. “But now with the princess and her companion in our grasp, the heroes of past and present will face our wrath!”

While their leader was monologuing, Artemis had completely cut through her bindings and subtly passed Warriors her hidden knife. Now, it was only a matter of finding the perfect time to strike.

"Ah but we have a rare opportunity here." Koga turned to Artemis and Warriors didn't need to see his face to know that he was wearing a comically devious grin. "You must be the legendary Sheik - your resemblance to the princess is as striking as the stories say."

"What do you want, traitorous scum?!" Artemis growled.

"I have a simple proposition."

"Pro - proposition?! I would never join your lowlife ranks!" She really was enjoying hamming it up. 

Warriors was able to completely cut himself free but as his hands brushed over the edges of his sleeves, he knew that the thin fabric had been shredded along with the ropes. He had to remind himself that it was just a dress - getting out of here alive took higher priority.

Kohga took several hefty steps towards Artemis and crouched down in front of her. His back was completely exposed to Warriors - an easy killing blow. He locked eyes with Artemis, waiting for her signal.

"We have many tragic stories of you from our era." Kohga said. "How you faithfully served the royal family when it was at its weakest only to be tossed away and discarded the moment you were no longer needed. You could be more than a disposable pawn - something greater than you could ever imagine. Power. Glory. Freedom. It would all be yours if you turned your back to that royal whelp."

Then Artemis smirked. "Maybe you shouldn't have turned your back."

Warriors jumped up and lunged at Kohga. But Kohga moved faster than any man his size had the right to be and leapt into the air. Warriors quickly changed his trajectory so that he sliced through the ropes at Artemis's ankles rather than accidentally plunge the knife into her chest. Artemis leapt to her feet and quickly returned the favour by slashing through Warriors remaining bindings - unfortunately also leaving a huge gash through his skirt. 

But this was no time to be crying over a ruined dress as the pair were soon surrounded by more Yiga foot soldiers than they expected. Either they miscounted or they were using the Sheikah shadow clone technique. Either way, this was going to be a long and tedious battle.

"Seize them!" Kohga ordered, stamping his foot like a petulant child.

Artemis leapt into the air and seemingly disappeared. However, several surprised grunts later, hidden archers were no longer a problem. 

The Yiga closed in around Warriors. He gripped his borrowed knife tighter. There was no way he could fight like he normally would in this dress, especially with such a short ranged weapon. Then the idea struck him. Maybe he might not be able to use his combat style but he could use someone else's.

Warriors spun around and his skirt fanned out around him. The momentum combined with the weight of the fabric knocked his enemies back. He followed up with a spinning kick, dispersing several shadow clones and knocking out one of the originals. He may not have Fi's magic or ability to hover but her dance-like style would turn his greatest hindrance into a weapon. 

The constant twirling was starting to get him dizzy and though none of the Yiga seemed to be able to hit him, he had trouble controlling his movements to land a solid attack. Having to dodge those stupid spiked balls didn't help either. 

Wild said he had fought Kohga one-on-one and in that scenario, the Yiga clan leader would be a sitting duck as he summoned his spiked balls. However, Warriors was swarmed with foot soldiers, cannon fodder that he could have easily cleared if he had sword and clothes that didn't threaten to trip him up if he wasn't careful. From a safe distance on a fallen pillar, Kohga had all the freedom to conjure and throw his balls to his heart’s content. The battle wasn't difficult, it was just out right frustrating.

Warriors gracefully jumped into the air, dodging the swipe from one of the Yiga blade masters. He planned to land with vertical spilt kick on a foot soldier he had knocked down but one of those fucking balls was coming straight for his head. He barely managed to dodge out of the way but the abrupt change in direction disrupted the flow of his skirt. The full weight of the fabric threatened to tangle his legs so Warriors was forced into another dizzying twirl to keep the skirt up and out of his way. Now he regretted never properly learning how to use magic. 

Two more balls were thrown his way and Warriors had to keep spinning to evade them - giving any enemies he previously stunned the time to recover. He couldn't kick hard enough to knock them unconscious let alone land a killing blow. He was simply stalling, trying to stay alive until someone with more firepower arrived.

Warriors spun towards one of the blademasters, honing in on a single enemy in hopes of knocking out one of the heavy hitters, but the Yiga had picked up on his strategy. His target extended his sword and Warriors couldn't stop until it was too late. The blade caught on the fabric and combined with his spinning momentum, the floor length skirt was shredded down to the length of his tunic. 

Warriors could move freely now - but the dress was utterly destroyed.

There would be a time to mourn the dress later but now Warriors reveled in returned mobility. 

Not wasting his built up momentum, Warriors landed a two-footed kick right into the blademaster's abdomen. He pushed his full weight behind it and knocked his towering foe to the ground. He kicked the sword up and out of the Yiga's hand and caught it. It was heavier than he was used to and he was more partial to one-handed weapons rather than two - but the hero now had a sword and his enemies should start cowering in fear. 

He made a long swipe and a gust of wind emitted from the blade, dispersing another wave of shadow clones and lining his opponents up perfectly.

There were many ways to describe force magic but it was something unique and instinctual to every fighter, even to one that was magically illiterate. For Warriors, it was adrenaline and the momentum of combat. His force attack was the crescendo to his battle song, the peak of his attack strings and combos. 

Warriors raised his blade high, hold your sword skyward as the Ballad of the Goddess goes, and it glowed with stored power. He brought it blade down and spun forward, nothing like the delicate twirls from before but lower, wider, stronger. His spinning slash extended farther with his untrained magic, absolutely crushing any enemy caught in its wake, with a final burst of light that knocked Kohga off his pillar, his spiked ball dropping on his head. 

But despite his devastating attack, more Yiga emerged from clouds of smoke. Did those damn portals grab every Yiga in Wild's era?! 

Artemis dropped down from above, panting heavily. Her Sheik battle style was one of the deadliest on the battlefield but so much of it relied on her magic which she couldn't access without her harp. 

They stood back to back as their enemies closed in. There was only so much longer they could hold out.

Kohga had regained his place on the broken pillar, looming above them with his arms crossed. "I was going to let you live but after all the trouble you caused, I'll just let the hero find your broken bodies!"

The Yiga soldiers closed in and Kohga conjured an even larger spike ball, the inverted Sheikah eye glaring down at them. 

Then there was a mighty roar that shook the very foundations of the temple. The entire structure shook and parts of the roof began to cave in. 

There was no time to mutter a what or how as a giant shadow loomed over them all. 

"Volga?" Zelda muttered. 

A ball of light zipped down from above. “Watch out!” Proxi yelled before activating her rental skill. 

A wall of water surrounded Warriors and Artemis. Then a familiar magic circle appeared on the ground, pulsing red with flames and rage. Several large naginatas emerged from the ground and crashed down on the Yiga followed by a torrent of dragon fire. However, Warriors and Zelda were completely untouched. 

The flames dispersed and the water walls fell...but the Yiga were gone - either vanished just in time or so charred that not even ashes remained.

The great dragon landed - condensing down into the form of a man in a spiral of flames. Impa landed beside him, hands in a white knuckled grip around her naginata and pure rage painted on her face.

Warriors quickly looked away. Proxi chattered about something near his ear and Artemis was saying something else but he wasn’t listening to either of them. 

Did Impa love him? That didn't matter. He had failed by bringing the princess into the direct line of fire. If it weren't for her timely arrival then his failure would have gotten the princess killed. 

Duty first and above all else - and Warriors had failed. 


	12. “Everyone here is an IDIOT” by Legend/"Naisim ninyo bo ba kun mai ipan buhai para santin?" by Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while XD I'm at the point where all my changes are catching up to me and I need to rewrite large chunks of my draft so can't guarantee if I'll always have a chapter out every week.  
> A big thanks to Mochi (mochibun) and Tux (Tuxedo Elf) for inspiring parts of this chapter and a MASSIVE thanks to Merry (verymerrysioux) for being an amazing beta and helping me construct the Sheikah language

Logically, Impa knew that there was nothing to worry about. Though Link had talked about Sheikah defectors called Yiga and the Hero of the Wild had identified the kidnappers as such but neither of them were actually Sheikah. ‘Yiga’ wasn’t a Sheikah word nor family name - traitors were called  _ dyeru-sida.  _ Additionally, bananas,  _ sagin,  _ were left behind.  _ Sasabihin nan mana sagin an amin mana ninanaisu  _ \- ‘the bananas say what we intend’ and fully ripened sweet bananas meant that this was all supposed to be an unplanned but playful and harmless test. It had barely been a day since she sent word to Kakariko about the wedding but with  _ waniya _ constantly ‘innovating’ the transport system, she wouldn’t be surprised if  _ aniya  _ was already in Castletown. This was the sort of stunt that he would pull for ‘fun’. 

If it was malicious then it was nothing that a fully trained Sheikah and an unbound dragon knight couldn’t decimate, that was if Link and the princess left anything behind. This was far from their first kidnapping and they were both capable and competent warriors. 

But that knowledge didn’t stop the rage boiling under her skin or ease the worry that settled in her stomach. 

It wasn’t until she saw Link through the fading flames and water vapour, whole and unharmed saved for some minor bruises and tears to his tunic (honestly he should have more sense than to run around without pants), that the tension finally left her. 

“ _ Buhai pa.”  _ She breathed. He was still alive. She hadn’t lost her chance, not yet. 

_ ‘Waka mon karitan.’  _ whispered a small voice in the back of her head. ‘ _ Don’t forget. Kokoyan o sarijin? Paragin, kokoyan muna. The kingdom or yourself? Forever and always, kingdom first.’ _

Impa should have been checking if the princess was okay, that their kingdom still had its goddess-blooded sovereign, but she remained fixated on Link. Bright blue eyes, still gleaming from battle, stared at her through sweat-soaked bangs. As Volga landed, Link bowed his head.

She wanted to take him into her arms, to sweetly hold him as she sob out her relief - but duty first.  __

The princess curtly reported on their kidnappers and the ensuing battle but Impa was only half listening. The princess may have been trained in Sheikah techniques but she was not Sheikah herself. The sweet aroma of burning bananas filled the air, reminding her of the late nights where  _ aniya  _ would make plates of ‘emergency turon’ when his banana horde started to rot. A treacherous Sheikah wouldn’t leave behind such sweet bananas. 

The princess spoke of countless foes that seemingly came from nowhere but the residual magic only hinted at one, one Sheikah who was extremely skilled at  _ bushin.  _ Skilled enough with illusions and shadow clones to fool two seasoned fighters into thinking they were up against an entire force of enemies. Dangerously skilled but with no desire to be malicious. 

Her  _ aniya  _ would have been capable of this but this wasn’t how he normally did things. That didn’t disqualify him though, he always took pleasure in finding new ways to surprise her. Impa would ask him when he chose to reveal himself. 

If it wasn’t  _ aniya… _ then they had made their intentions clear.

Volga roared in frustration, his anticipation for battle left unfulfilled. It took a ridiculously long time to convince the dragon not to burn the temple to ash and even longer to convince him to carry the princess due to her not being dragonkin. They eventually managed to and by mid afternoon, they were flying back to the castle with their allies successfully rescued. 

Yet throughout the entire flight, Link never raised his head nor spoke a single word. 

* * *

Surprisingly, all the heroes were waiting for them in the courtyard. Impa expected for them to be in pursuit after she left them behind but with their disgruntled looks and Young Link having that mischievous smile peeking through his mask of concern and maturity. That not-so-tiny murder child would have found a way to keep them all in place. 

“ _ Dumadaima.”  _ Young Link greeted them as they dismounted from Volga. “ _ Ien bo kinyo papadayin.” _

Impa blinked. Did he just say in Sheikah…

_ “My Sheikah’s rusty... but did Young Link just say he wouldn’t kill us right after welcoming us back?!”  _ the princess subtly signed. 

_ “He did...and very politely as well.”  _ Impa signed back.  _ “But he comes from an era where the Sheikah were nearly wiped out so it’s natural that their greetings would be more…aggressive…”  _

_ “Dumadaima! Mabuhai!”  _ The Hero of the Wild said brightly.  _ “Hylia, maawa kin sa ami!”  _

Impa blinked again. Did he not expect them to come back alive? She knew why Young Link would greet them with a ‘I won’t kill you’ but what happened in the Hero of the Wild’s era for Sheikah to greet each other with ‘Hylia have mercy on us’?

Then Link gently pushed passed her, his head still hung low. It would have been so easy to grab his hand to ask, or even demand, what was troubling him. But she didn’t.

Link stalked into the castle like a man walking to the execution block and Impa just watched. Proxi bobbed for a moment before flying after him. Had she been larger, Impa would have seen the scowl the fairy threw her way as she left. 

"YOU HYLIANS NEVER CEASE TO CONFUSE ME." Volga boomed, having returned to a humanoid form. "WE RETURN VICTORIOUS WITH OUR COWARDLY FOES NOTHING BUT ASH - YET LINK HANGS HIS HEAD IN DEFEAT."

"It's the dress." The princess said solemnly.

Dress? But Link had been wearing a tunic-

Oh. 

The dragon knight scoffed. "I HAVE SEEN HIS FLIMSY ARMOUR SUFFER MORE DAMAGE YET HE BARELY SHED A TEAR. WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT?"

Impa continued to stare at the castle entrance, just barely listening to the princess’s attempts to explain the significance of the dress to the dragon.

"That helmet you wear is carved from the skull of your previous incarnation, is it not?" Young Link said. "Imagine if it were damaged beyond repair."

"THEN I WOULD BURN THE PERPETRATOR DOWN UNTIL NOT EVEN ASHES REMAIN." Volga growled. 

"We should go talk to him." the Hero of Hyrule said. "We could have the dress remade - maybe even update the design so that it's not so old fashioned."

"...he wouldn't talk to me." Impa said softly. She wouldn’t let anything more betray her inner turmoil but... "He didn't even look me in the eye... what happened?"

The Hero of Legend threw the Hero of Twilight a sharp look but the latter was already shuffling in shame.

The princess gave a weak smile. "You know how Link is. He takes his duty extremely seriously and personally."

“ _ Kokoyan o sarijin…”  _ Impa muttered. 

Young Link turned to her, an old ire burning in his eyes.  _ “Kokoyan muna.” _

Impa inadvertently gulped. 

When everyone who was displaced by the portals was scheduled to return to their original eras, Link had vehemently protested and argued until he was out of breath for Young Link to stay here. Every night, he would storm into Lana’s tent and make his demands. His voice echoed through the entire camp and left no question about what he was fighting for. 

Impa had met him in his tent before one of his attempts. She sat down beside him on his cot and Link had his head bowed with his face completely red. Young Link, not the grown man that stood before her today but the little boy smaller than the age he claimed, had squeezed in between them and looked up at her with bright hopeful eyes. 

_ “Nai,”  _ that little boy had said to her. 

It had filled her heart with so much warmth and so much guilt for what she would say. 

“My clan has a saying:  _ kokoyan o sarijin. _ ” Impa had said. “There will always come a time when you are forced to choose your duty to protect the kingdom or your own personal happiness and  _ paragin,  _ always... _ kokoyan muna.” _

Link never raised his head but Young Link had stared at her. Impa watched as that hope fell into the ire that she saw before her today. 

Impa had left without another word.

The next morning, Young Link was returned to his original era.

“ _ Kokoyan muna _ .” Impa muttered, those words haunting her. 

The Hero of the Wild gave a weak laugh. "Well a body double failing at body double duty does seem like a pretty serious thing-" but he was quickly elbowed by the Hero of Hyrule. 

"I think it's more he doesn't know that you love him." the Hero of Legend said.

The princess hummed in agreement. "Link sought my counsel last night for his worries." then she turned to Impa. “I know this is all happening very fast but I would have thought you would have told him ‘I love you’ at least once, or even ‘ _ mahai kina’.” _

“It’s not that easy.” Impa said. “ _ Mahai an panmahai.” _

The princess stared at her blankly. 

“Uhh, ‘love is loving’?” The Hero of the Wild offered. 

“ _ Mahai an panmahai.  _ ‘Love is expensive’.” Young Link said, his gaze slightly softening. “It’s the same word in Sheikah.” 

Impa nodded. “ _ Mabingan an haranga nan kokoyan.”  _ The price of the kingdom is heavy. “Yet Link somehow finds a way to give his love so freely. I don’t think I can do the same…”

“Then sing it to him.” The Hero of Legend said. 

“What.”

“Sing to him.” He repeated with his arms crossed. 

Young Link perked up. “You  _ should  _ sing to him.”

“Singing your love to him would be perfect!” The Chosen Hero said with a smile. 

“Can’t think of a better way to get it across.” The Hero of the Four Sword added. 

Impa blinked twice. “I...don’t follow.”

“Me neither.” the princess said.

“Y’know, the musical rule.” The what…?

The Hero of Legend growled in frustration. “The oldest form of magic is music - that’s why the goddesses gave us such big fucking ears.” He tugged at his own ears for emphasis. “But we also have music for _ communication.  _ If the emotions get too much for talking, you start singing. If it’s too much for singing, you start  _ fucking dancing _ ...and if it gets too much for dancing, you start  _ fucking _ .”

“That’s vulgar.” It had to be a joke.

He scoffed. “Then you better get it all out of your system before then.”

“Even I know about the musical rule and I’m pretty sure my era comes after this one.” The Hero of the Wild said. “You sure you haven’t heard of it? I learnt it from a Rito bard who learnt it from his Sheikah teacher.”

“War has ravaged our kingdom for centuries. We’ve tried our best to preserve our past but some things are inevitably lost.” the princess explained. “It seems like this...musical rule was one of them. Though, we do have one magic-tied song...”

“Let me guess, you use it for war.”

“...”

“No wonder everyone here is so  _ emotionally fucking constipated.” _ The Hero of Legend grumbled. 

The Hero of Wind pulled out a silver baton,  _ the Royal Windwaker.  _ “Now it's as good as ever to rediscover it!”

“This isn’t necessary.” Impa said. 

But before she could slip away into the shadows, the Hero of Twilight grabbed her hand. “Does he know that you love him?” 

“I agreed to marry him.” Part of her knew, however, that wouldn’t be enough. 

“But  _ how does he know you love him?”  _ He was  _ singing. Nayfarodin,  _ they  _ were  _ serious.  _ “How does he know he’s yours?” _

“This isn’t necessary.” she repeated. 

Then there was the sound of  _ bongos  _ of all things. She turned around to find Young Link had procured a pair from thin air. 

“Where-?”

That mischievous smile she would never admit she missed spread across his face. “Less talking, more singing  _ ina _ .”

The Hero of Hyrule and the Hero of the Wild sandwiched her on either side. “ _ How does he know that you love him? How do you show him you love him?”  _ They looped their arms around hers, stopping her from escaping without hurting one of them.  _ “How does he know that you really, really truly love him?” _

__ With that, the heroes dragged her into the castle after Link - and where was that music coming from??

_ “It’s not enough to take the one you love for granted,”  _ the Hero of Twilight continued to sing as he lead the procession,  _ “You must remind him or he’ll be inclined to say-” _

_ “HOW DO I KNOW SHE LOVES ME?”  _ Even Volga was singing now?! 

The Hero of Twilight turned back to her and for a moment, he looked so painfully like her Link.  _ “How do I know he’s mine?”  _

The two heroes dragging her pressed even closer.  _ “You got to show him you need him. Don’t leave any room left for doubtin’.”  _ Servants popped their heads out of their rooms at the late afternoon racket.  _ “Each day do something to lead him to believe you love him.” _

The Chosen Hero slipped in front of her with a harp in his hands. “ _ Well you could take him out dancing just so you can hold him close? _ ”

“I don’t dance.” Impa said sternly but that did nothing to hinder the singing.

_ “Or dedicate a song with words meant just for him?” _

“And I really don’t sing.”

The servants and some passing nobles were staring. She expected for one of them to ask what was going on, or even demand it to stop, but some of them were bobbing their heads and -  _ nayfarodin,  _ were they going to join in too?!

The Hero of the Four Sword danced to the Chosen Hero’s side.  _ “You’ll find your own way to tell him, with the little things you do! That’s how you’ll know-” _

_ “THAT’S HOW YOU’LL KNOW!”  _ literally everyone else in the castle chorused. From the looks of some of them, they didn’t believe they were singing either. 

The Hero of Twilight sent her a sly smile. “ _...she’s your love.” _

...there really was no way she was getting out of this. 

* * *

Stupid. 

_ Stupid. _

**_Stupid._ **

Warriors delivered another slash to the hapless training dummy. The worn cotton torn apart at his blade and sand spilled out as it deflated on its pole. He growled in frustration as he kicked it away and set up his next lifeless victim. Proxi flew overhead concernedly but remained quiet. She knew talking wouldn't help him right now. 

It would have been more private in forge, it would have been warmer in the kitchens but at the end of the day, Warriors was a soldier and nothing brought him more comfort than having a sword in his hand while in the training grounds.

His body mechanically went through the motions. Swinging a sword was second nature - even easier than breathing. He lost himself in familiar drills and mock battles. His mind went numb. He was nothing but a vessel to wield a blade, a tool for combat. 

He didn't want to think about how badly he screwed up at his oldest duty. 

He didn't want to think about how he ruined his great-grandmother's dress beyond repair. 

He didn't want to think about how he completely disappointed Impa today and how she would marry him out of duty and how he doesn't know if she actually loved him- 

Warriors put too much force into his final slash and it glowed with his untrained magic. The dummy was sliced cleanly in half and the old training blade shattered on contact. He dropped his shoulders, panting heavily as he stared at the bladeless hilt in his hand.

Stupid.

What was he thinking, proposing without even giving their relationship time to grow after his confession? Oh right he wasn't. It was the concussion. That dumb reckless concussion courage.

Warriors sighed. He said that he would talk to Impa - get a solid answer out of her rather than let his anxieties rule him. He could probably hit himself hard enough with the hilt to get another concussion. It seemed like the only way anything could get done was if he wasn't in a lucid state of mind. Or his concussed self would just dig him further into his grave.

All he had was duty and love - and he already failed his duty. 

He turned around and - Impa was standing behind him. 

Fuck.

How long had she been there for?

His words caught in his throat. A simple "Impa" was what his lovesick heart wanted to say. "General" was what his anxiety-ridden mind insisted he address her as. His mouth hung dumbly open. He couldn't even give her a proper greeting. 

Impa eyed him. Perfectly poised, beautifully elegant and completely unreadable. Could such a lovely woman like her truly love a pathetic mess like him?

"That's a trainee tunic." Impa said, her voice was steady and neutral but Warriors read disappointment into her tone. 

"Yes." Warriors said, thankfully his words hadn't completely betrayed him. The green hero's tunic was still in Zelda's room and going up there would only result in his being cornered by her or one of the other heroes. It was easier to find his way to the storage room and find a spare uniform. He couldn't stand being in that ruined dress any longer. But that wasn't what he said. "It's comfy."

"Comfy." Impa was never anything but neutral but that didn't stop Warriors from hearing judgement. You were bestowed the honour of the hero yet you crawl back into the garb of a common soldier. 

"It's familiar. It's ill fitted for my station but I know this tunic. I've worn it for years. Even though the standard sizings are too tight in some places and too loose in others, there's comfort in the familiarity. I know you went through the efforts to tailor-fit the hero's tunic and it fits perfectly, better than anything else that I've worn in my life but-" Warriors forced his mouth shut before his inane ramblings could continue because he knows that his words would drift from tunics to his body and how like the trainee tunic, he still found a comfort and familiarity in the body he was born in rather than one that would better suit his identity. He didn't want to remind Impa of the one thing he could never give her in a marriage despite the means being available - especially if she was only marrying him out of duty because that came with the need for consummation and heirs and-

...and where was that music coming from?

A gentle ocarina tune filled the quiet air. 

Warriors quickly scanned the training ground to find the other heroes poorly hidden behind one of the towers. If he looked close enough, he could see Wind's back with his baton in a raised hand. The ocarina was soon joined by the strums of a harp and the low tones of a cello. He flinched at the sound of a badly played recorder but it abruptly stopped as the other instruments resumed. 

Impa cleared her throat. Warriors turned back to her and - was she blushing?! 

It was the barest redness on her cheeks and nothing else but it was there. 

“ _ How do I know I love you?”  _ She said softly, almost melodiously. 

Warriors gulped. “How would you?” he said just as quietly. 

* * *

“Mayday! Mayday!”

“Fuck!” 

“They’re both emotionally constipated  _ idiots.” _

“ _ This  _ is what you get if you trade music for war!”

_ “ _ We can still salvage this!” Two firm taps of a baton. “Everyone! Follow my lead!”

* * *

The music suddenly shifted, dropping back to just the ocarina.

" _ I'll swim and sail on savage seas...with never a fear of drowning... _ " Impa was singing?! From her wide eyes, even she was surprised that she had suddenly burst into song. " _ And gladly ride the waves of life...if you would marry me... _ "

Warriors stood in mystified and dumbstruck silence. Impa was singing to him - she was serenading him. Her voice was soft with an uncertainty that Warriors had never heard before. Her singing wasn't good by any objective means but it filled him with warmth and chased away the doubts that filled his mind. 

" _ No scorching sun nor freezing cold, will stop-" _

The recorder screeched again and Warriors heard Wind harshly and loudly whisper, "Hyrule!"

But Impa continued unhindered.  _ "Will stop me on my journey..." _ The music began to swell and Warriors felt his blush deepen.  _ "If you will promise me your heart and love-" _ Impa's voice faded. " _ And love...budanina. _ " 

_ “...And love me for eternity.”  _ Warriors didn’t know why he started singing, he didn’t even know  _ what  _ he was singing but something deep in his soul compelled him to. It thrummed under his skin, searching for an exit. The closest comparison he could think of was force magic and battle adrenaline...but this was so different.  _ “My dearest love, my darling dear, you’re mighty words astound me…”  _ Singing helped with the feeling but it tingled through his entire body. He needed to do something  _ more. “...but I’ve no need for mighty deeds…”  _ He needed to move. He needed to  _ fight.  _

Warriors dropped the broken hilt and kicked up another training sword. In one fluid moment, he caught the sword and lunged at Impa. She effortlessly blocked him with her naginata. They were so close, close enough that he could steal a kiss from between their blades, but instead he finished the line,  _ “...when I feel your arms around me.” _

He smiled and she smiled back. 

The music paused for a moment but then continued at a faster upbeat pace as the two of them began to spar.

They were both soldiers and combat was the one language they shared and spoke fluently. There was no anger or malice in their blows but they were no less intense or passionate than any attack on the battlefield. The music guided them, directing their bodies as they dove and spun around each other, perfectly synchronized - it felt less like combat and more like a ballroom dance with blades.

Warriors found himself giggling as they weaved around each other and the smile that graced Impa's face was so utterly beautiful and true that he could almost believe that she loved him. The music was perfect, Impa was perfect and-

The song peaked and Impa suddenly shoved him against a wall. Warriors was pleasantly caught off guard. They were so close now, barely a hair breath between them. Just a little bit more and he could kiss her-

And Impa smashed her lips against his.

It was the complete opposite to their first kiss in the cave. For one, Warriors wasn't concussed. He kissed her back with the same ferocity. It was a messy clash of lips and teeth and noses but neither of them cared. Adrenaline still pumped through their veins and fire burned in their hearts. 

Impa broke the kiss. Warriors was left panting and breathless, weak-kneed and giddy with joy. He was so glad for the wall behind him or else the kiss would have dropped him to his knees. 

_ “Mahai kina.”  _ Impa breathed.  _ I love you. _

And that was it. Those were the words that banished any lingering doubts and crushed all his anxieties. She loved him. Impa loved him.

" _ Mahai tin kina _ ." Warriors said with a stupid wide grin, one that grew even wider at Impa’s surprise. Yes, he was fluent in Sheikah. " _ Harinkan mo ako urin _ ?"

Impa smiled back and pressed her lips against his again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheikah Appendix  
> dyeru-sida - traitor (lit. 'no longer family', Zonai loan word)  
> Sagin - bananas  
> Sasabihin nan mana sagin an amin mana ninanaisu - the bananas say what we intend  
> Aniya - eldest older brother (Zonai loan word)  
> Waniya - second eldest older brother (Zonai loan word)  
> Waka mon karitan - don't forget  
> Karitan - forget/sickle  
> Buhai pa - still alive  
> Kokoyan o sarijin? Paragin, kokoyan muna. - Your kingdom or yourself? Always, the kingdom first  
> Kokoyan - nation, kingdom, country, duty  
> Paragin - always, eternal, forever, persisting  
> Bushin - shadow clone technique (lit. 'shadow', Zonai loan word)  
> Dumadaima - welcome back (lit. "we've increased" or "your arrival has increased our number")  
> Ien bo kinyo papadayin - I'm not going to kill you (plural) (child-like and polite)  
> Ien kina papadayin - I'm not going to kill you (singular) (normal) - common greeting during the Era of Time  
> Mabuhai - you're alive (lit. "life") - common greeting during the Era of the Wild  
> Hylia, maawa kin sa ami - Hylia have mercy on us - common greeting and parting during the Era of the Wild  
> Nai - ma or mama (very informal)  
> Ina - Mother (extremely formal)  
> Mahai kina - I love you  
> Mahai tin kina - I love you too  
> Mahai an panmahai - Love is expensive  
> Mabingan an haranga nan kokoyan - The price of the kingdom is heavy  
> budanina - dammit  
> Nayfarodin - contraction of Nayru, Farore and Din, used as an expression of anger, frustration or disbelief  
> Harinkan mo ako urin - kiss me again  
> Naisim ninyo bo ba kun mai ipan buhai para santin? - have you ever thought we could have had different lives?


	13. Fuck this flavourless food!” by Wild/ “Hindien siya para sayo” by ???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! I'm back and ready to kick off the next arc! I've been rewriting and restructuring a lot so while I'm officially on summer break I can't guarantee a steady upload schedule.  
> Also great pick up for those who noticed - Sheikah is based off of Filipino. I'm not completely fluent and you can thank verymerrysioux for my grammar and expression not being google translate jank. Also thanks to Merry, this fic has spun off into its own little multiverse so check out the other AU-AU-AUs linked to this series if you got the chance (and we might have a couple more on the way ;) )  
> Also I should say that I'm not trans but just really like the trans!Warriors headcanon. I'll do my best to be as respectful and well-researched as possible.

Warriors woke up to two familiar things that should never be together: the cold hard dirt of the castle training grounds and a warm body wrapped around him. Did he learn _nothing_ from the scandals he nearly started? Those moments of weakness when the effects of the constant war after war after _war_ snuck past his crumbling walls of duty - when he said _damn it to the Dark World_ and grabbed the first willing person that was too cowed by his reputation and status to feed the rumour mill or expose his secrets. 

But as consciousness settled in, so did the memories from the previous night - bright, clear and _warm_ like his _fiancee_ beside him. He opened his eyes and smiled at Impa’s sleeping form. In all the years he had known her, this was the first time he had seen her so relaxed - free from the weight of the kingdom. It was vain wishful thinking, especially given their lives and duties, but a part of him wanted to give her more peaceful moments like this. 

He reached up and pressed a gentle kiss at her jaw. _“Mahai kina.”_

Impa stirred slightly at the contact. Her eyes remained closed but that would have been more than enough to wake a trained Sheikah warrior. She absolutely glowed under the light of the full moon, still steadily breathing as if she were asleep. Warriors snuggled closer, relishing this moment he wished could last forever. 

However, sleeping outdoors would do neither of them any favours, especially when there were warm soft beds waiting for them inside the castle. 

He gently nudged her shoulder. _“Gisin na.”_

_“Yoko pa bo.”_ Impa mumbled. Then she stiffened and her eyes snapped open. She would have jumped to her feet if their limbs hadn’t been so tangled together. _“Link.”_ She relaxed but a blush slowly crept onto her cheeks. 

“ _Bo_?” Warriors asked, failing to hide his grin.

Her blush deepened. “I thought you were _aniya._ We used to sleep in the garden on warm summer nights when I was younger. It’s been so long since I last felt so...calm.”

He gently held her hand and brought it to his lips. “ _Gusuto ko biguyan kina an maramin yobi na kasin ganreina mo.”_

Her expression was stern but there was no disguising how red her face was. “I wasn’t expecting you to be fluent in Sheikah.” 

“I learned what I could from the books.” Then he grimaced. “It wasn’t easy. _Please_ don’t tell me that all Sheikah literature is written in three layers of code.”

Impa chuckled softly. “Books in the castle normally have at least five, to get any deeper you would need references to books that aren’t found outside Kakariko. It’s impressive that you got that far, especially with a language you were trying to learn. You need to work on your accent though.”

“Hopefully it will be enough to impress your family. I’m putting you in an awkward enough position as an outsider. ” Warriors laughed but that didn’t stop his encroaching anxieties. “I know family duties are just as important as duties to the Crown.” As he currently was, providing her heirs was one duty he was physically incapable of. 

“Bloodlines are important but capacity and competence are valued more. There are potential successors to _aniya’s_ position without the need of either of us to have children.”

Warriors sighed in relief. The last thing he needed was their marriage to come in conflict with any form of duty. A Sheikah will always put duty first. 

“That song really was something else.” Warriors said absently, staring up at the moon. “Never pegged you as much of a singer.” He didn’t consider himself a singer either - he didn’t even recognise the song yet the words and tune had flowed so easily from his mouth. 

“You can thank your fellow heroes for that. It’s apparently a tradition in every other era except ours. Music is apparently a powerful and compelling form of magic.”

Warriors stiffened and his sword hand twitched. The music hadn’t been malicious but it was still too soon to be dealing with magic that stole his free will. 

The civil war, the fifth one in recorded history, was the shortest war of the decade but also the most brutal. Soldiers tired and frustrated from the previous seemingly pointless wars combined with opportunistic nobles looking to grab for power was a cannon that exploded in all of their faces. _That_ war had been completely pointless. He had recognised too many on the other side - good men who he remembered joking around the campfire with, good men who didn’t deserve to die to his sword, good men who never got to return home.

A triumvirate had headed the rebellion. He knew and cared little about Gateau Armitale beyond his skills with beast taming and how he would bully Forest at every given opportunity. General Jared Endon he had more _personal_ grievances with - that file remained unopened but he _knew_ that General’s deliberate mismanagement had led to Uncle Jack’s disappearance. But it was the final youngest member that still haunted him - a noble born wizard, Phoenix Mangus. 

A bright young man, a boy of only nineteen, with a mind that put all other magical scholars to shame. A brilliant mind that he turned to war. Simple spells that could summon water or slightly increase the temperature were utterly devastating when aimed _inside_ the human body - and that was just the tip of the boy’s creativity. He had demanded recognition for his magical talents, talents that had been previously overlooked due to not being useful for the war efforts. The rebels promised him recognition and that was what he received, recognition in the form of high treason and public execution. 

Phoenix Mangus was only nineteen, the age Time would have been if Warriors had fought just a little bit harder for him to stay. If he had fought a little harder, maybe he could have convinced Artemis to spare the boy’s life. No nineteen year old should have had that look of resignation and acceptance as he laid his head on the chopping block before Warriors.

The kingdom’s hero was also the Crown’s executioner, it was one of the many duties he had accepted with that green tunic and cap - yet with his sword raised over that boy’s neck, Warriors had hesitated. Phoenix Mangus had a brilliant mind. In another time, he could have become an amazing magic innovator, possibly even the court magician and a research partner to her royal grace. In this time, his brilliant mind applied a spell to animate bones to bones still within a living human body and he compelled Warriors to swing his blade down on his neck. 

The crowd parted as he and Artemis made their way back to the castle from the gallows. The entire city was there - every man, woman and child had been ordered to watch and witness the punishment for rebelling against the Crown. When the choice came between being loved and being feared, a ruler always chose the latter. It was what was necessary in order to ensure the survival of the kingdom. 

He had walked with his head held high, pulled higher and higher by the strings of duty that were both his chains and lifeline.

“Mama, so if I do something bad the princess and hero will kill me too?”

He had immediately snapped to the voice - a little child who was quickly hidden away in their mother’s arms while the woman looked at him with unadulterated fear, as if she had been staring down a monster. With blood on his blade, splattered on his tunic and coating his hands...well, wasn’t he? 

A monster might have started the wars but the wars had turned all of them into monsters. 

Warriors was glad that the portals had dragged him away soon after. It was easy, too easy, to lie that the blood on his tunic was from monsters rather than from a fellow man, from a boy who didn’t deserve his fate. 

He knew the others meant well but it was still too soon. 

Impa placed a hand over his. He let out a deep breath. That didn’t stop the trembling but trauma wasn’t something that could just be stopped. All you could do was soldier on and do what duty demanded. Duty was all he had left. 

But maybe now he could have love too. 

He leaned against Impa’s chest, his head perfectly slotting in beneath her chin. Maybe he could have this. 

“Are we going to stay here all night?”

“We could - we have slept in worse conditions in the past.”

“True.” There were warmer beds waiting for them inside and they might catch a cold staying out here but out here - “There’s no one else but the two of us. No one will bother us.” Was Proxi still nearby or had she retired after he and Impa had fallen asleep? 

“Right. We are not to be disturbed.” 

Warriors could hear the glare and command in her voice but who was she ordering? There was no visible fairy light, no glint of armour under the moonlight, just the shifting shadows -

Ah. 

Sheikah. Shadow folk. 

Of course they were being watched.

“Shall we go inside then? Catch a few more hours of sleep before sunrise?”

“It won’t be much, dawn is nearly upon us.”

The sky was still a deep night blue but Impa always had an impeccable sense of time, second only to Young Link. That tiny Time could quote the time down to the millisecond and there was no doubt he could still do it as an old man. 

Two decades, one month and five days - Time had kept track of it all. From the moment a promise was broken before it could be made to when the portals dragged them together again. There was no doubt he knew the exact second when they were reunited. 

But now wasn’t the time to wallow in what-ifs and what-could-have-beens. Keep moving forward and let the present moment be the place you be. 

Warriors hummed. “If that’s the case, maybe we should get started with our day.”  
“Did you miss paperwork that much?”

“By our Lady, _no._ “ He didn’t want to think about how much had piled up in the months he was away. “Paperwork is the last thing that’s on my mind...though it has been a while since I’ve both been up early enough and had the free time to bake.”

He looked up to see a playful light dancing in her eyes. “Croissants?”

“Anything for you, my love.” 

* * *

With the sun still below the horizon, it was a surprise to run into any other than some servants preparing for the upcoming day. A Twilight who looked like he was clinging to his last vestiges of sanity and a Time with a serene smile that just shouted troublemaking little shit spelled a fresh headache for Warriors. 

“Morning. Up bright and early?” he greeted brightly.

Twilight turned to him with dead exhausted eyes. “You said you wanted a turn at mentoring Wild? Well he’s yours - they’re _all_ yours. This is your era and your wedding, _you_ be the responsible one.” 

Warriors shared a quick look with Impa before turning to Time. His smile grew wider and more cattish but thankfully he didn’t need to be prompted any further. “Legend was rather concerned with the limited timeframe left and decided that we should all be up early.”

“He had a _conch horn.”_ Twilight interjected. “A goddess-damned conch horn he was playing _badly_ at an unholy hour in the morning. Does he keep that damn thing up his skinny pantsless ass?!” 

Time’s grin grew wider still and the thrum of the upcoming stress pounded at the back of Warriors’ head. “However, nothing can get done on an empty stomach so we all decided to pay a visit to the servant kitchens where Wild had some choice words for the chefs - especially after he saw what they had planned for the wedding.” 

“And bullshit always comes in threes so I am _not_ sticking around for that.”

Warriors gave a weak chuckle. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?” 

Twilight didn’t grace him with any words but rather something between a groan and a snarl. Time placed a steadying hand on his shoulder but was brimming with amusement. “Dragons snore rather loudly and Volga has always had the penchant for sleep talking at his standard volume.” Oh right, that had taken some time to get used to. Twilight had all his sympathies. “I think some time in the stables with Epona should keep him from being a complete grouch for the entire day.” He turned to Twilight who was muttering about inconsiderate dragons and gremlins under his breath. “...and maybe some goats might be useful as well.” 

“The stables will be at the end of the hall.” Impa said, just barely keeping the smile out of her voice. “Though you’ll only find horses there.” 

“The castle cucco hut is close to it. The cuccos there are very fluffy and cuddly.” Warriors added. 

Twilight threw him a tried glare - or it would have been one if he hadn’t spent all his fucks to give for the day before the sun was even up. 

“They’re nice cuccos!” 

“That’s a nice try to get my eyes pecked out.” Time slowly began to steer Twilight away before he let out any more biting sleepy remarks. 

“Enjoy your morning...or damage control.” Time threw back with a full shit eating grin that was more painfully nostalgic than it should have been. 

If he had fought harder...but duty before yourself... 

“We should spare the servants the trouble.” Impa said, gently taking hold of his hand. 

It was just a simple touch, barely anything affectionate by normal standards, but Sheikah were a people of few words and careful actions. If small touches and slight shifts in tone was her language of love, then he would learn it. 

Before he could reply, there was a shout from a foreign voice. 

_“_ Let go! Let go! _”_

Warriors spun around, hand on the hilt of his dagger but then he noticed Impa, despite turning just as quickly, hadn’t reached for any weapons and looked slightly exasperated. 

_Like she used to with Young Link,_ whispered the tiny part of his heart that still refuses to concede. 

Twilight had leapt to the other side of the hall, fully alert and ready to fight with his fists if need be. Time, however, casually held a flailing Sheikah youth by the collar - there was no mistaking that mop of silver-white hair and purple blue uniform for anything else, though that orange scarf and vest definitely wasn’t standard issue. 

“Your footwork needs work - Hylian ears are more sensitive than you think.” Time said. The others might call his smile wise and mysterious but Warriors knew that was the smirk of a brat who outwitted trained soldiers thrice his age. “You were also in a poor position for spooking.” 

The Sheikah youth scowled. “What would you know, _gago.”_

Now that wasn’t a nice word. 

Time just kept smiling, not betraying that he understood them. He turned back to Impa with a wry smile. “I didn’t know there were trainees in the castle.”

“There shouldn’t be.” Impa sighed. “ _They_ should be back in the village and not abusing their porting privileges. _Mariniku itono an maguoya mo._ ”

“ _Ninan!”_ the youth whined. 

Warriors choked on his breath. _Ninan._ Impa was a godmother? This was her godchild? 

_“Bakize kin kokodito? Mane pasoko kin.”_

“ _Man-a-aizawa kin sa putishiron tarantado_ !” 

Time’s expression immediately darkened with his grip on the youth tightening. 

“ _Hoi, huwaka mo akon bastusin.”_ Warriors said sternly while trying to force a smile back on his face. 

The youth stopped flailing and snapped to him. “... _nakaka-rikaitindi mo ako_?” 

“ _Oho_ .” And regardless of whether it was a bratty teenager or some rebellious soldiers, it was always satisfying to how they would pale when you hear their back talking. “ _Nano, mai probundai kin?_ ”

“ _Ikimi an probundai ko_ !” the youth snarled. “ _Bakize kaitsuyo man-a-aizawa si ninan sa isan gago na tuyoni mo_?!” 

“ _Hoi_ .” Time said darkly, raising the youth so that they were eye level. “ _Nai-rikaitindi-han tin kina_.” 

The youth gulped and started slowly reaching behind them, likely for something to help them escape but then Time threw them over his shoulder with a firm grip around their abdomen that made their kicking and flailing futile. 

“I hope you don’t mind them accompanying us, _ina_.” Time said. 

Impa shook her head. “At least I know they won’t be getting into too much trouble.”

“ _Ninan_!” the youth whined again. 

But Impa shot them a stern look and they immediately stopped squirming. “ _Man-paka-baito kin_.” 

They didn’t respond but went limp against Time’s shoulder. 

Parting ways again, Warriors couldn’t stop his mind wandering. Impa had a godchild. Not exactly a child of her own but it was a kind of fostering - like how she had cared for Time during the war. Had she been made a godmother after the war? How old were they? 

“Fifteen.”

“Huh?” 

“You asked how old my godchild was.” 

He felt his face warming up. He had been absent-minded enough to say that out loud. “I didn’t know you had a godchild.” 

Impa shrugged. “It’s not something that I advertise and the wars made it dangerous for them to leave the village. They’ll warm up to you eventually. Their step-parent is Hylian and the two of them get along decently well.” 

“That’s good to hear.” But that wasn’t what was plaguing his mind. 

Impa was already a godmother when she decided Young Link was a sacrifice for duty. 

She had a godchild yet pressured you to give up your boy. That tiny spiteful part of his mind snarled. You would have kept fighting. Knowing this back then, you would have fought harder regardless of what she said. 

A godmother isn’t the same as a mother. Another part of his mind tried to reason. The duties are different and what he called her aside, Impa isn’t actually Time’s mother. 

But that didn’t stop it from hurting. 

“Are we going to the servant kitchens?” Impa asked. 

“Umm…” That was a distraction but not the one he was hoping for. It was just trading one mountain of issues for another. “I was planning to go to the military kitchens since they’re closer.” 

“The servants aren’t paid enough to deal with heroes.”

“They never are.” 

Warriors bit back a sigh. Ever since his duties called him back to the castle, he had been avoiding all of his childhood haunts. In the military kitchens, the staff turnover was high enough that none of the current chefs were employed when he was a child. The servant kitchens, however… 

If Forest could still recognise him after everything that had changed yet still insist that was still a girl, if Madame Dolores refused to listen even after he told her directly…

It was just easier to push off meeting with anyone who knew him back then and still didn’t know. Better to live in ignorance rather than face brutal certainty.

Heh. For all his courage, he was still a coward in so many ways. 

He felt Impa’s fingers curl around his own, a simple comfort and promise of support. How long has it been since he had that? 

...too long. 

He gripped her hand tighter as if that would wring some extra courage out of him.

“Well then, it would do us no good to have all the chefs quit because Wild was left unsupervised.” He said with all the fake confidence and bravado he could muster. Maybe the truly courageous were the biggest fools who somehow hadn’t died yet. 

* * *

Nothing was on fire. That was good at least - especially considering the servant kitchens took up the majority of the ground floor. 

Four, Wind and Sky sat in a corner with a plate of bread between them, the former two still half-asleep and absently shoving food into their mouths while the latter had his nose stuck in a prayer book, ignoring the food altogether. Thankfully he could rely on three of them to stay out of trouble for now. 

Hyrule was excessively apologizing to a rather pale cook that was likely Wild’s previous victim. Said hero was currently tearing into another unfortunate cook by a bubbling pot. The poor man was completely cowed by the hero, by both his words and the lump of rock salt he madly waved around. 

“See this.” Wild said, pushing the rock against the cook’s cheek. “This is _salt_ and it makes sure your food doesn’t taste like moblin guts and chuchu jelly. Even _bokoblins_ know how to use salt!”

Legend was casually leaning by the door, looking a bit too awake and smug while munching on an apple. 

“Do I want to know how this came to be?” Warriors asked warily. 

Legend smirked. “You have eyes and ears and this is your era, you should know what pissed our cook off. This is tame compared to the rant at dinner last night. Seriously, did a king die because of poisoned salt so all flavour was banned?”

Before Warriors could respond, Wild snapped to him, arm still raised and gripping the rock salt like he was about to stone someone. Naryu’s nips, that scowl would have a rampaging dodongo cowering in shame. The poor chef the champion had been berating took the opportunity to slink away now that his tormentor had found a new target. 

“ _Warriors.”_ Wild growled and it took every year of Warriors’ military training not to flinch. “Is everyone in your era allergic to _fucking flavour?”_

Warriors shrugged as casually as he could. “People tend to prefer the purer taste of food.”

“If you define ‘pure’ as _bland as a blight’s balls.”_

“Should I be concerned that you know what that tastes like?” 

“You should be more concerned about whether you have any functioning taste buds left with how bland this food is!” 

“You liked yesterday morning’s pastries.”

“Pastries are the only damn thing that has had any taste in this era and that’s just concentrated sugar! I’ll trust these donkeys with your wedding cake but everything else…” Wild’s eyes flicked to cooks who immediately started trembling. 

They were all new faces to Warriors which made him mentally sigh in relief. Maybe everyone from his childhood had moved on or retired. It was a shame though. The question of bigotry and prejudices aside, he would have liked to give them a thanks for their services, even as a distant member of the court rather than the child they had taken under their wing and given a sense of family and community amidst the machinations of the noble circles. 

Then the back door opened.

“What seems to be the ruckus?” a kind yet stern voice asked as someone painfully familiar entered the kitchen with a crate of milk. Mrs Weaton, the head of the servant kitchens for as long as anyone in the castle could remember. Her hair now had more grey than brown and a new collection of wrinkles framed her ever-present motherly smile but there was no way he could mistake her for anyone else. Whatever else she had to say was cut short as he saw that flash of recognition in her eyes. “...is that you, pumpkin?”

So much for pretending to be a stranger. Though honestly, her not recognising him might have hurt even more. 

Warriors gave a small awkward wave. “It’s been a while, Mrs Weaton.”

“It has.” Shock still coloured her gentle voice. Once that went away, would it morph into anger and disgust like he always feared? 

The entire kitchen fell silent as all eyes honed into the reunion. 

Part of him wanted to freeze up or run away or just disappear from existence but a firm hand gripping his own kept him anchored. 

“I apologize for disrupting your work.” Warriors said quickly, hating how his voice instinctively pitched higher. The sooner he can excuse anyone, the less likely he would have to confront one of the many questions that plagued his mind for years. “Mornings are always the busiest times - every time is busy when the castle has guests. Apologies for that. I’ll escort my companions out and-” 

He stopped short as Mrs Weaton placed down the crate and walked over. She was by no means a tall woman, but it felt so odd to be taller than her when he still remembered hiding behind her skirts so as to not get caught in the kitchens again. 

“You’ve grown up wonderfully, dear.” And despite how that little girl who once frequented her kitchens obviously didn’t become a woman, there was no judgement in her voice - only a motherly fondness that he sorely missed. “What name do you go by nowadays?” 

“Link.” He said, choking back the happy tears. “I still use Lin though and have recently been going by Warriors.” 

“You’ve always had a fondness for that name.” She chuckled lightly. “ I assure you, you’re never a bother here. I’ve missed my little baking assistant.” 

And he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her into a hug. He sobbed into her collar, still smelling of that same rosemary and thyme. A warm firm hand slowly ran up and down his back. 

“There, there. You’re still welcome here, Link.” 

And maybe, things were looking up for today. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheikah Appendix (with the Filipino it was based off)   
> gisin na (gising na) - Wake up  
> yoko pa bo (ayoko pa po) - I don’t want to yet  
>  Gago (gago) - fool   
> Gusuto ko biguyan kina an maramin yobi na kasin ganreina mo (Gusto ko bigyan kita ng maraming gabi na kasing ganda mo.) - I want to give you many nights as beautiful as you  
> Mariniku itono an maguoya mo (Marinig ito ng magulang mo) - your parents will hear about this  
> Bakize kin kokodito? Mane pasoko kin. (Bakit ka nandito? May pasok ka.) - why are you here? You have classes  
> Man-a-aizawa kin sa putishiron tarantado (Mag-aasawa ka sa puting tarantado) - You’re going to marry a white fool  
> nakaka-rikaitindi mo ako (nakakaintindi mo ako?) - you understand me?  
> Hoi, huwaka mo akon bastusin (huwag mo akong bastusin) - hey, don't be rude to me   
> Oho - yes  
> nano, mai probundai kin? (ano, may problema ka?) - what, you have a problem?  
> Ikimi an probundai ko (Ikaw ang problema ko) - you’re my problem  
> Bakize kaitsuyo man-a-aizawa si ninan sa isan gago na tuyoni mo? (Bakit kailangang mag-aasawa si ninang sa isang gago na tulad mo?) - why does godmother have to marry a fool like you?  
> Nai-rikaitindi-han tin kina (Naiintindihan din kita) - I understand you as well  
> Man-paka-baito kin (magpakabait ka) - you, behave  
> hindien siya para sayo (hindi siya para sayo) - he’s not for you

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Don't Tell The General](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24959173) by [verymerrysioux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verymerrysioux/pseuds/verymerrysioux)




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